Saving Mr Hizuri
by Fae 206
Summary: Three months ago Ren Tsuruga was diagnosed with a terminal illness and turned his back on acting, walking away from both LME and Kyoko without much explanation. Now Lory has tasked Kyoko with helping him put his acting affairs in order but Kyoko doesn't think it's too late to save the man she cares for. Will she tell him of her feelings and what secrets will he share. Sad but cute
1. Chapter 1 - The Client

**AN:** First of all, I probably have a sickness for this 😊 I write too many Skip Beat fics and then more ideas come to me and I find it really hard to stop. Second, I hope that you enjoy it.

 **Saving Mr.** **Hizuri**

 **Chapter One – The Client**

Kyoko stood outside of LME looking up at the agency building. It had been three months ago that she had stood here with Tsuruga-san and they had both looked up at how big this building was. She hadn't truly understood it at first and then he had asked her how it looked on the day that she had knelt in front of it waiting to be let inside. Then she knew what he wanted to show her although she wasn't exactly sure why. She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a necklace that had a silver star at the end of it.

" _So, how does it look now that you've been inside for a long time?" Ren grinned as he stood beside Kyoko who was in her Love Me coveralls. Kyoko looked up and smiled. She knew that Ren was being distant for a reason but she wasn't sure what had happened. She had really hoped that it wasn't because he knew her secret and he felt strange. Was he going to reprimand her over her maidenly feelings for him._

" _It looks smaller and safer and like home," Kyoko grinned as she turned to look at him but noticed that Ren was still seeming a bit off. "Tsuruga-san, is there a reason you asked me here?"_

 _Ren took a deep breath in. "I'm not going to be coming back to the agency for at least a little bit, Mogami-san. I can't wait to see how you shine in the future, all those projects that you'll have to tell me about if we next meet," he said before coughing and Kyoko's eyes widened._

" _Tsuruga-san, that isn't the type of thing that you should joke about," she said nervously and Ren shook his head._

" _I'm not joking. Tomorrow is going to be my last day at LME for the foreseeable future. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about this before, Mogami-san, but I didn't know how to get it out. I suppose that even my presence isn't going to be irreplaceable," he said as Kyoko studied him again. What would cause Ren to say these things? He was_ _the_ _Ren Tsuruga._

" _Are you going to another agency…maybe abroad?" Kyoko tried to guess but Ren just smiled and came over to her. He placed the necklace around her neck and smiled playfully. Kyoko blinked as she looked at it and how the diamonds changed colors in the light creating a rainbow effect. "Tsuruga-san?" she asked as Ren smiled._

" _I have to go and be with my family," he told her, "but I wanted to say," he coughed again. "Thank you for everything, Mogami Kyoko," he said as she blushed hearing that. "I hope that we do meet again but if we don't, hopefully that star can be your guide to being the brightest one out there. I believe in you," he smiled as Kyoko stared at him._

It would be three months tomorrow that Ren announced his time-off from the acting field with nobody knowing if there was an end date. There were so many things that she had wanted to say to him, but before anyone knew it, he was gone. Apparently, his family lived underground or in outer space because nobody had seen him. He had just disappeared.

"I hope you're taking care of yourself, Tsuruga-san," she whispered as she brought the necklace out and studied the different colors in it. She hadn't been able to tell him that she loved him or tell him that she was actually Bo. She hadn't been able to thank him for his kindness. It was one moment he was here and the next…he was gone.

As Kyoko put the necklace into her pocket, she pulled out her phone and her eyes widened. The president had wanted to talk to her and she now had about five minutes to go up and into his office to talk about one of her last jobs as a Love Me member. The president had said that he still saw how much she loved Ren despite his absence and that as far as he had heard Ren was alive and okay.

She made her way to the office and smiled as she carefully took hold of the necklace. Maybe if she did become the very best actress, she would see him in the crowd cheering her on. Maybe at that time she would be strong enough to tell him that she cared about him. As she entered the office, she saw Lory dressed like a pirate and smiled before bowing.

"Kyoko," Lory said as he looked at the time, "You're two minutes late. I was expecting more when I heard about your powers, now I don't know if I want to give you this task or not," he said with a dramatic pout and Kyoko took a deep breath in before letting it out.

"Alright, should I go then?" she asked as she gestured to the door and Lory's eyes widened.

"Okay. I _will_ give you this task, it's similar to what you were doing for Kuu Hizuri. There's another…friend of mine that I'd like you to help out whilst he's in Japan. You might be able to learn about acting from him as well. This man needs a lot of help but is quite stubborn so don't let me down," Lory pointed at Kyoko and she blinked.

"Su-Sure," she said with a weak smile. "Why does he need help if he's stubborn? Is it like Kuu-sama not wanting to prepare meals for himself?" she asked and Lory sighed.

"If you want details then you should ask him but without treading too much into his personal life, this man has a terminal disease and he's been having treatments for it for the past few months. He decided there were some things he wanted to do in Japan though. Two of the things that I need from you are to make sure that he eats and make sure he takes his medicine." Lory smiled, "You can do that for me, right?"

Kyoko paused as she stared at the president, "Are you asking me to be his nurse?" she asked and Lory hummed.

"There will also be some acting things that he might need some help on. I know that you won't let me down," he told her as Kyoko took a breath in and nodded. She was surprised when instead of telling her about the man, he gave her a long stay hotel room key and an address.

…..

…..

Kyoko didn't know if she would have to pack anything or stay here. Apparently, all she had to do was take care of him during the day, when she didn't have her other jobs, and she could leave at night. He was said to be understanding about any time conflicts. Still, this guy might be completely different to what the president had planned.

She knocked on the door and waited. She sighed as she tried to keep a straight back and looked at the shocking pink that she was wearing. Hopefully this man wouldn't cast her out because of the tacky color. Maybe he could be reasoned with.

Kyoko closed her eyes as she tried to come up with her thoughts of what this man could look like. When she opened her eyes she looked at the man in front of her and gasped, putting her hands over her mouth as tears were in her eyes. "Corn?" she asked, "You know the president?"

Kuon looked her up and down, he should have known it was like the president to do this. His hair had been shaved off about two and a half months ago when he had started his treatment and now there were short blond strands covering his head. He didn't wear contacts and so Kyoko could see right into his emerald eyes. He should have known that the president would do this.

Kuon was now becoming quite painfully aware of the IV bag he was holding up and how his body showed a lot of his bones since he was skinnier. He was also wearing a hoody and blue jeans because this is what his body felt most comfortable in. He blinked hard as he listened to the question and then nodded. She was seeing a sick Corn in front of her, not Kuon or Ren, that was a good thing.

"Oh, do you need to borrow a voice?" Kyoko said as she closed her eyes, "You can do the magic now if you'd like."

Kuon looked at her before smiling sadly, he moved so that he could lean against the wall. He hadn't expected for his body to get so ill so quickly. He grabbed a piece of paper and then started to write, making sure to use a handwriting that wasn't his own. ' _I'm too ill for most magic. Your president helped me get this hotel room. You can come in but is it okay if I sit down?'_

Kyoko looked at him and then looked around the hotel room. There weren't many items out although there were three bags that must have his items in them. Wait…hadn't she seen something like that bag before? "You and Tsuruga-san have similar bags," she smiled. "Are you sure there's no connection?"

Kuon looked after her and sat down with the IV, closing his eyes and trying to steady his breathing. He looked at her before writing again. _Did your president tell you about my sickness? Did he tell you how bad?_

Kyoko's eyes filled with tears as she read that and remembered what he had said. "Oh god, Corn. Corn are you dying? Is it because of the rule saying that fairies can't live on earth for a long time. Isn't there any medicine that you could take? Isn't there a way of making it to your home?"

Kuon smiled weakly, _My magic isn't strong enough, but please don't be sad. I've lived longer than many other fairies and I've had a happy life because I've met you three times now. I can die happily._

Kyoko looked at him before her eyes caught onto something strange. She walked over to the coffee table and her hand started shaking as she picked up a cell phone and saw Corn's eyes widen as he noticed what she had in her hand. "C-Corn, do you often steal people's cell phones?" she asked as she inspected it again. She pressed the home button and felt herself become even more nervous when she saw it was a picture that Tsuruga-san had taken of the two of them together.

 _Stealing cellphones is an important fairy custom_

Kuon wrote trying to show it to her as Kyoko's eyes widened. She heard Corn cough and her mind went back to how Ren had kept coughing when he told her that he had to go away for a while. Then there were all the other similarities. Kyoko's eyes widened and she looked at the man in front of her.

"Tsuruga-san?" she asked before hearing him cough and his eyes slid closed.

 **End of Chapter One**

 **Thank you to everyone who has chosen to check out this story. All reviews are appreciated** **Thank you again.**


	2. Chapter 2 - A Ren by Any Other Name

**AN:** Another one of my problems is that when I start a story and I'm really excited about it, I tend to upload the second chapter very quickly. Well, I do hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter Two – A Ren by Any Other Name**

Kyoko knelt in front of the actor that she admired who she had just learned, in a shocking turn of events was her childhood friend who was dying. She wanted to scream into a pillow. She wanted to yell at him and ask him why he never told her about who he was whilst at the same time seeing her pain over Corn. She wanted to know what happened to turn Corn into Ren Tsuruga. She wanted to demand his proper name.

However, she couldn't do any of those things with her body feeling like it was shattered glass.

She reached up and felt the heat of Corn's…Ren's…his skin. She saw him trying to wrap an arm around himself in his sleep and shiver in the fall weather. She looked around. As mad as she was at him never telling her this information, it didn't mean that she didn't love him. In fact, despite how he had deceived her, she loved him even more knowing that the two were the same. She wondered if she should tell him in a state like this or whether he would just be troubled.

She looked around. A blanket. She needed to make sure that his body had enough heat and a blanket could help with that. Why wasn't there one close by? Kyoko stood and let her hand run over his short hair and she walked into the bedroom area. There were three bedrooms here? Why would he need three bedrooms unless…was that high schooler staying here with him? Well, at least he had his loved one.

As she peeked into one of the bedrooms, she noticed one of Ren's coats spread out on the bed and next to it was a designer blanket with a card on top of it. Was it wrong to read it? Yes. All she needed was the blanket, but was this from the girl that Ren loved, she was interested in who it was. Maybe she could look and sneak it back so that nobody would be able to tell. Well, curiosity would get the best of Kyoko Mogami.

She opened the card and her eyes saw some very clean handwriting but what it read put her in more shock than if it was from a lover: _My little Kuon, please know that we are rooting for you. I hope that this keeps you warm – Mom_

"Kuon?" Kyoko repeated before her eyes widened and she paled as she remembered the role she had played for her 'father'. Ren Tsuruga, Corn, and Kuon Hizuri were all the same person? This felt like such a joke. Her head was spinning but she just wanted to make sure he was warm and safe. As she picked up the blanket and left the card on the bed, she made her way back to where the ill man was on the sofa.

"Ky—Kyoko," Ren said in his sleep before speaking in an American accent using English. "I'm sorry. I love you…Kyoko. I'm so sorr-" he coughed and offered up a painful expression. Kyoko looked at him, studying everything she had known as Ren Tsuruga and now was told was both Kuon Hizuri and her childhood friend, Corn. Why was he calling for her?

Kyoko placed a pillow on the arm of the chair and slowly managed to get Ren…Kuon…Corn into a resting position before putting the blanket over him. He was so weak. She understood why he was so scared of appearing weak to her. He wasn't this way usually, in fact he had been so strong and had once told her that he never caught a cold. She didn't know how long he had been sick, but if she was in his position then would she have told him? She would definitely have been scared to.

As she sat watching him rest, she gently placed a hand to his throat so that she could check his pulse and his breathing. She didn't know how long he had left and that broke her heart. Maybe she shouldn't tell him of her feelings. What if that made his condition worsen?

"I know you might not feel like eating it," she whispered to him, "but I'm going to make you some soup that will still taste good if you heat it up later." Kyoko didn't know what came over her, but she gently pressed a kiss to his forehead. He had been strong for so long, but nobody was immune to getting hurt. She went to the fridge that surprisingly _did_ have food in it and tried to decide what to make.

As she looked at the different ingredients that she could use, Kyoko heard a card key get swiped through the hotel room door. She paused nervously and looked around. Was this his girlfriend? Had he managed to tell her how he felt about her? Kyoko didn't know how to approach this other girl or how to explain why she was there. She didn't know how to battle against the jealousy in her own heart.

However, her eyes widened as she saw that it wasn't a short girl but a tall male actor that entered. She smiled weakly as she looked up at the famous celebrity who appeared to be carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders. "Kuu-sama," Kyoko said as she dropped into a bow and watched as Kuu put the groceries down.

"Kyoko?" Kuu said with a little bit of surprise in his voice, he spread his arms out for her and she walked into them, allowing herself to cry into his chest as she had done with Ren so many times. "It's good to see you. I thought that Boss would send you here. I can also guess that you know now that he's my son."

Kyoko nodded slowly, "I just found out but he doesn't know I know," she whispered before closing her eyes. "It's not fair, father." She looked up at him and then took another glance at the ill man on the sofa. "Please keep this a secret between the two of us," she almost begged Kuu, "but I love him. It hurts to see him like this but if there is anything at all that I can do to help him get better."

"I won't tell him," Kuu said as he sighed. "Did you want to talk about his condition?"

"I…only the things that you feel I can hear from anybody and not the things you think he'd want to tell me himself," Kyoko replied.

"He's been ill for nearly six-months now. It might seem longer by how much his body has been ravaged by the treatment plans and the illness itself. He knew that he needed to find somewhere to get treatment and we believed that the best doctor was in America so he decided to come back and be with Julie and I for a little bit, but then his body started to reject that treatment plan. We found someone in Tokyo with high credentials so came here. Fortunately Boss has made it so that it's all highly confidential."

Kuu stared down and Kyoko could see the he hadn't shaved as much as before, he looked tired and worn out and defeated by the world that was trying to steal his son away. "There is a chance that he can get cured, "Kuu told her hesitantly, "but it's more of a dream scenario than likely to happen."

"How long do they think that he has?" Kyoko asked as she felt her heart beat painfully in her chest. All she wanted was for him to pull through this. Then she could yell at him for tricking her.

"They're guessing about three to four months so January or February next year," Kuu said honestly before seeing Kuon's breaths go ragged and Kyoko's eyes widened. She didn't know whether to wake him up or not. Kuu immediately got to his side and placed a hand on his upper arm and squeezed it lightly.

"Da-d?" Kuon asked as he opened his eyes and looked at his father. "I dreamed that Kyo-" he paused as he looked at the girl who was standing behind his dad. His eyes widened as he continued to look at her. Did she know everything? Well, even if she hadn't before, he had just called Kuu Hizuri 'dad' wasn't that obvious? "Hello, Mogami-san," he said with a very weak look at her. "I…I'm sorry, I owe you an expla-"

"I understand," Kyoko said looking down with a smile. "I knew that you had a stage name and that Ren Tsuruga wasn't your birth name so it makes sense why you didn't want to be in your father's shadow any longer. Did you want me to keep calling you Tsuruga-san?" she asked and Kuon looked at her before shaking his head.

"All my medical forms say Kuon Hizuri so you could call me whatever you want to," he said and Kyoko realized how weak his voice was and how tired he appeared.

"I'm going to make you some tea," Kuu said quickly, he turned to Kyoko, "Care for any tea?" he asked her and Kyoko nodded not turning away from her childhood friend.

"You don't deserve this," Kyoko said as she looked at him and attempted not to cry. "Is this why you stepped down from acting? Is this how you managed to get the president to let you leave LME?" she asked and Kuon nodded.

"I can't work if I'm sick. I should have told you who I was a long time ago," he said as he placed a hand on his forehead which made both Kuu and Kyoko concerned. "I'm fine," he told his dad who was about to drop the loose tea leaves and call for an ambulance. After being reassured that Kuon really was okay, Kuu went back to making the tea.

"Have you told your girlfriend about this?" Kyoko asked and Kuon looked at her confused.

"My girlfriend?" Kuon asked confused before looking at her and shook his head, "I don't know," he coughed again, "who you're talking about Mogami-san. I don't have a girlfriend."

"What about the girl that you like?" Kyoko asked as Kuon looked away from her uncomfortably, "I'm sorry Tsuru-Hizuri-san," she apologized before bowing deeply. "That's none of my business, there's obviously someone who is special to you."

"There is someone special to me, but I don't want to give her false hope," Kuon said as he looked at her and put a hand to his forehead. "Look at me, Mogami-san. I'm really sick. I don't deserve to burden her by telling her how I feel about her. She might expect a happy relationship and I can't give that to her anymore."

"I'm sure that she'd be happy just to spend those last three months with you," Kyoko argued and Kuon looked at her.

"Would you?" he asked and Kyoko blushed. She needed to hide her feelings from him. This was a hypothetical question that Ren…Kuon was asking her. She shouldn't act like an idiot by burdening him with her feelings for him.

"If I was that girl, yes I would," Kyoko said as Kuon continued to look at her face on.

"Would you?" he repeated not sure whether to tell her directly or dance around the subject to save him some time and save some face.

"Yes, if I was the girl that you were attracted to, I'd want to know. Maybe three months isn't a long time but you should still allow that girl that you like to choose whether to spend them with you or not. It's always a nice thing to know that there are people who like you," Kyoko attempted to encourage him and Kuon coughed again.

"I'm asking the girl I care for right now if it would be better for her to know that I love her," Kuon said as Kyoko paused. Wait. Was he talking about her?

 **End Chapter Two**

 **AN2:** Thank you to everyone who has shown an interest in this fic, it means a lot to me. Special shout out to Kris for reviewing the first chapter despite it's short life so far 😊


	3. Chapter 3 - I wanna be your girlfriend

**AN:** I know that there are some other fics that I need to work on but I'm really enjoying writing this one and I'm not feeling too well. I am so thankful for everyone who has shown interest in this fic, it was a very pleasant surprise to me so thank you.

 **Chapter Three - I wanna be your girlfriend**

Kyoko nervously shifted as she looked back at him. She didn't know what to say. She had feelings for him but she had been trying to hide them and now all of this together was just making it feel like she was going to fall down a rabbit hole. "I—yes," she nodded trying to give herself more time by acting dumb, "ye-yes, that girl would like to be told that."

"Mogami-san, what I me—" Kuon started but was cut off by Kyoko nodding.

"I know," Kyoko said as she looked down. "It's really hard for me to say this to you, but I think I love you too," she told him before her sadness was in her eyes and Kuon flinched unexpectedly. Kyoko looked over at Kuu who was coming over to check the IV bag and make sure Kuon didn't feel any unexpected pains.

"Then please know how hard it is for me to tell you that you shouldn't be my girlfriend," Kuon added as Kyoko looked at him confused. Kuon looked down as he thought about all of the medical conditions that he had been warned about both during the short span of life and what might be possible _if_ he managed to live."

"You don't need to protect me, I want to be with you!" Kyoko argued as she tried to get closer. This was all too much for one day and it was hard getting everything sorted in her head. "If you think about it, it's going to be longer than the time I spent with you as Corn and we know each other so much better," she tried to tell him and Kuon looked down.

"Mogami-sa-"

"Kyoko," Kyoko spoke up. She didn't want to erase the fact that the man in front of her, the new Kuon Hizuri that she was seeing had played two extremely important roles to her. One of the charismatic, Japanese actor, Ren Tsuruga and of the other of a fairy prince who had given hope to a frightened little girl, Corn. "Could you please call me Kyoko?" she asked as Kuon sighed and nodded.

"Kyoko," Kuon nodded with a smile before looking at her. "I can't be one of your bad love stories. You need – no, you deserve someone who will stay with you and who you can slowly fall in love with and have a happy life with. You need someone to protect you even when you don't feel as if you need protection. As much as I would love to be your prince -"

"Are you saying that you're not going to want to spend three months with me?" she asked. She looked down, so maybe he wasn't taking advantage of her the way that Shoutaro had, but even knowing the problems that Kuon was facing, this still felt like a rejection.

"I love you, Kyoko, but for your sake –" Kuon attempted to reason with her but she cut him off.

"For my sake you should let me choose and I want to be the person that you chose to love. I want to spend as much time with you as I can. I thought you knew me….Kuon," she said as she looked at him with tears in her own eyes. "After all this time that it took me to learn to trust love again and…"

Kuon felt his heart breaking as he looked at the girl – no woman in front of him and reached out a hand. "Okay," he nodded, "I'll be your boyfriend if you'll let me, but don't expect too much of a future," he tried to joke but was surprised when Kyoko walked close to him and wrapped her arms around him, her nose next to his neck so she could smell him.

"Thank you," she said before looking at the IV bag again and then at his wrist. "Do you need to use this all the -"

"I had therapy this morning, but my father's in charge of the catheter," Kuon said as he rolled his eyes. He looked at the IV and then at Kuu as Kyoko blushed at acting this way in front of Kuu. She was still trying to remind herself that Kuu was there because he was Ren's – Kuon's father. "It was for a couple of hours. I don't like being at the hospital, so the president knew the owner of the hotel chain and he managed to get us a very private room here."

Kyoko paused as she watched Kuu approach with a few medical tools. She shifted out of his way as she noticed a few things in there such as a stethoscope and thermometer. After Kuu did various tests and wrote them down in a notebook, he nodded to himself and started to take the catheter out of Kuon's arm.

"Tell me if you feel a change and I can get it put back in for you, okay?" Kuu asked and Kuon nodded as he saw the pained expression on his dad's face.

Kyoko looked at Kuu curiously, "So you really did go to stay with your family," she said as Kuu smiled and looked at his phone which had a picture of him and Julie on it.

"I'm not allowed to live alone anymore," Kuon tried to explain to her. "When we thought that there was a doctor who could help in California, it seemed the best thing to do would be to move back home for a little bit. Even though it had been a really long time, they both welcomed me home but then the treatments had some negative side effects and Dad wasn't working so he could come with me here where there is a different treatment plan."

Kyoko nodded sadly, "Am I allowed to know what it is?" she asked nervously and Kuon looked away into the distance.

"If I can get through these next three or so months and my condition improves, I'll tell you then," he said before looking at his father to make sure he didn't talk about one of the possibilities if he lived beyond that time frame.

Kyoko nodded, "Well we'll just have to try our best so that you _will_ live through these next few months and so that your condition does improve." She reached out and took his hands in hers and smiled up at him with strong conviction, "You're going to live, Kuon."

Kuon looked away before standing and Kuu immediately went to help him up, "Dad. I'm good. I'm good," he told him, "I was going to show Kyoko my plans for whilst I'm in Japan," Kuon told his father as he managed to make his way to his bedroom with using different objects to steady himself. Kyoko looked after him as tears ran down her cheeks. He was so ill and so different than his usual self.

"So, you get to be with your son again," Kyoko smiled as she saw how worried Kuu was, he gave a weak smile when she said that. "That's good right?"

"Kyoko," Kuu looked down and closed his eyes, "Do you really want to be with Kuon?" he asked and Kyoko flinched.

"I don't know why you're all questioning me on this. I think I'm in love with Kuon just as I think I'm in love with Ren and Corn. Are you asking me this because he's dying because I feel like I could save him," she said and Kuu took a deep breath in.

"I think he'll try to kill me for saying this to you," Kuu commented, "The illness that he has, which I'll leave him to tell you, has a nasty possibility of affecting his brain. Even if he does survive this, he might not think or act the same and it'd be nearly impossible for him to work in the acting field. I mean, nearly impossible but still there's a fighting chance if it happens," he said sounding like a grieving father already. "It's something you need to know, it's why _he's_ hesitant."

Kyoko brought her arm to her eyes to stop some of the tears. "Is that what you two think of me?" she asked. "Sometimes relationships don't last, Father, and I know that Kuon would respect my wishes, but don't treat me as if I wouldn't be able to handle that. Don't act as if all I'm interested in is being with a famous actor. Both Corn and Ren have been able to stop my tears, have been able to support me when I felt like I couldn't support myself, have helped me, motivated me, and most of all they've proven to me that they care about me. I-If he does have to endure that struggle, then I at least want to support him as his friend. I don't judge people that way," Kyoko said stubbornly.

The LME member closed her eyes and felt the tears fall as she imagined Kuon in a position where he'd never be able to take care of him. She knew that even then, even if they weren't a couple, he was still so important to her. She would always want to be his friend, but she didn't want that life for him. He deserved a happy life where he could experience so much.

"Kyoko?" Kuon said as he made his way to the couch with a large notebook under his arm. "What is it? What's wrong?" he saw her shake her head and gave her an expression saying that he didn't believe her. "I wanted to show you this, maybe it'll cheer you up, but if you need to talk."

"I'm fine," Kyoko nodded, "Are we going to talk about the tasks that the president told me about before I came over here? Are these the jobs that you're assigning me?" she asked and Kuon laughed.

"I guess so, if you do them well enough I'll give you a special stamp in your -" Kuon said before breaking into a cough and Kyoko placed a hand on his chest before coming to sit beside him. She blushed as she put her arm around him. Shotaro never really wanted her to be this close to him.

"All of the stamps you've given me are special," Kyoko grinned, "Even the negative ones."

Kuon closed his eyes and laughed at that, "I can be a stubborn and condescending jerk sometimes, can't I?" he asked as Kyoko smiled and looked at the notebook. "Dad," Kuon said as he looked up at Kuu, "Can we have some time to ourselves whilst I show Kyoko the book?"

Kuu nodded as he walked to the kitchen to prepare some tea for all of them.

Kyoko looked at the notebook that Kuon had taken out. Was this a schedule for work? Something that Yashiro-san had given him? Did the manager even know about Kuon's illness? As he opened it, Kyoko was expecting to see a list of acting tasks and a detailed schedule. Instead it was a list of things that Kuon wanted to do before he died.

Kyoko blinked some tears away as she read some of the items in the list: _Go to a baseball game. Take a drive in a very nice car. Go back to the woods in Kyoto. Write down memories. Say goodbye to loved ones."_

Kyoko tried to hold back tears as she read them. Barely any of them had to do with acting jobs, they were all more personal. She continued to read until she found one that caused her to hesitate.

 _Thank the TBM rooster._

 **End of Chapter Three**

 **AN2:** I feel like I'm going to get sad with every chapter I write of this, but I hoped that all of you enjoyed it. Thank you to everyone who supports this fic and a special shoutout to the Chapter Two reviewers: **Guest, Kris, LnlySnw22, Michiyo, PandashipsCS, paulagato**


	4. Chapter 4 - Cheerleader

**AN:** I'm really enjoying writing this story and I need something constant right now because my depression has been triggered. I really hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it.

 **Chapter Four - Cheerleader**

Kyoko looked down at the copy of the notebook that she had. She was surprised that most of these tasks that Kuon had put down weren't about acting but were more about enjoying daily life. He had explained to her that as Ren Tsuruga he hadn't been able to live as an everyday person and now, before his time ran out, he wanted to experience a life he could have had as Kuon Hizuri. Of course, he hadn't planned on starting a new relationship.

There were a lot of things that they could do together and that she could help him with as the president had suggested. She could go down to Kyoto with him and explore the wooded area in which she had met him, although she hoped he would be able to make the trip. Going to different parts of Tokyo seemed easier, but Kuu had explained that depending on the day Kuon might have to be in a wheelchair.

She could live with that though.

As she carefully studied the book, she knew the first thing that she wanted to do and that was reveal that she was Bo. However, unless she could get Kuon into TBM studios – which would create a rush to see the actor – it was going to be harder than she had originally perceived. She looked up from the book and grinned as she saw another girl in front of her.

"Moko," she grinned as she rushed up to her, "How are you? It's been a long time," she said as Kanae turned to her.

"We saw each other the other day, mo," she sighed before looking at what Kyoko was holding. "Is that a script?" she asked.

"No, it's…" Kyoko looked at the notebook again and closed it. These things were very personal to Kuon so maybe it was best not to show it without his permission. "It's a Love Me assignment, I'm helping someone with various tasks. It's my most important yet," she said as Kanae raised an eyebrow.

"So, what is it? Not something weird is it?" she asked and Kyoko looked down.

"Moko," Kyoko said nervously, "I have some news that I want to share but please promise me you won't get angry at me. It's very important news but I don't want to let you down. It's not something that a member of the love me section should be doing."

Kanae sighed, "Mo…well if you don't want to tell me then you don't have to," she said but Kyoko paused.

"I have a boyfriend," she said as Kanae looked at her surprised.

"You mean you're posing as someone's girlfriend, right?" she asked before Kyoko blushed and Kanae looked at her intensely, "Please tell me it's Tsuruga Ren."

Kyoko's eyes widened, "You..yes, but why would you think -"

"That guy has continually shown how much he loves you," Kanae told her. "It seemed pretty obvious to me, but right now he's dropped off the map."

Kyoko paled, she really felt that she shouldn't tell _anyone_ the next piece of news, but she trusted Moko. "It's very private information so please don't tell anyone," she said as she placed a finger on her lips. "Moko-chan, Ren has a terminal illness and so he wrote out a list of things that he wants to accomplish and it's my job to help him with them."

Kanae sighed, "That's pretty depressing," she said before looking at Kyoko, "So why does this guy want to date you when he can't promise you a particularly happy relationship?"

Kyoko shook her head, "He said the same thing but even though I want to be with him and for him to be happy, maybe it's selfish but it's more important to me that Ren is part of my life's story. Even if it is for three months, I'll be able to look back and know that he was there in my life. If it's just three months, it'll be three months that I'll be able to treasure."

Kane sighed, "I suppose I can understand that," she smiled to her friend. "Well, if he's cruel to you in those three months let me know, I don't mind defending you even against someone who's sick," she said and Kyoko shook her head.

"I trust him," she looked down, "He said that I get to control the speed of the relationship and if it ends before he passes." Kyoko looked down with tears in her eyes, she hated to admit that she wanted a long future with him where they could be happy. Giving her that wasn't something he was in control of. She thought about what Kuu had said about the possible outcomes if he was able to survive and the idea of the illness causing mental problems for him stung.

Kyoko closed her eyes and imagined him needing to stay in assisted living, the media and people mocking him, her needing to help him understand things which came easily to him now. Maybe she was over dramatizing it all but as long as he stayed the kind and considerate individual that he was, it didn't matter. She knew that she would love him because he was Corn. Even if he had a block in his brain, he wouldn't be as stupid as Shotaro.

"Kyoko," she heard a familiar voice say to her and opened her eyes to see the president standing in front of her. He gestured for her to follow him. "Let's have a talk in my office about your assignment."

Kyoko nodded as she tried to blink away some of the tears, "I'll talk to you later, Moko" she told her friend before silently following the president as she held tightly to the precious copy of Kuon's book.

"Take a seat," Lory gestured as they entered the office together. "I take it that you've been to see him."

"Kuon?" Kyoko nodded knowing that the president knew, however he looked surprised when she used his real name. "He told me, I also know about the complications of his condition. I'm going to try to take care of him the best that I can. I want him to get better but it doesn't seem likely," a few tears slid down her cheeks as she said that.

"Let me guess, he told you of his feelings," Lory said already knowing that he was correct. If they hadn't told each other of how much they cared for one another, Kyoko would be saying Hizuri-san but instead she said Kuon.

Kyoko nodded. She kept her head bowed as she struggled to hold back her tears. "I was scared to ask them but do you know what his chances of survival are?" she asked. Maybe if the president told her that they were better odds than she thought it would be easier to cope with it.

"About one in twenty people who get his condition live," Lory sighed sadly, "It's a really painful concept to grasp, I understand that."

"But still that's one in twenty," Kyoko said with a little hope in her voice, "and Kuon is a strong guy who doesn't give up. He's sure to have better odds of surviving this than most people," she said. After all, only one person in millions could achieve what he had as an actor. She looked down as she tried to think of what the best treatment options were for him. "I mean, if he had inpatient care, would that be better for him?"

"We don't really know what would be best, different studies have different findings," Lory told her as Kyoko looked down. She knew it was wishing on the improbable but the fact that she hadn't been told that everyone who gets this illness dies made her feel better, there was at least a chance that the world would be able to keep Kuon Hizuri far longer than what was proposed.

…..

…..

Kuon looked down at his open palm, he hoped that he had made the right decision concerning Kyoko. He knew that there were too many problems for him to face alone and pull through, but it wasn't fair to burden Kyoko with them. Maybe he just needed to be somewhere other than the hospital or the hotel room. Then again, he couldn't get _out_ anywhere in his current condition.

"Dad," Kuon said as he looked down uncomfortably. "You haven't told her anything, right?" he asked with a challenging spark in his eyes. "About the possibilities."

Kuu looked at his son and sighed, "I really think that you should tell her. It's up to you," Kuu said as he came to sit with his son, "but I really think you should tell her how you have difficulties moving and doing the things that you'd like to do. I think you should tell her about how you find it hard to breathe sometimes when you're sleeping."

"And about the kanji?" Kuon said with a dangerous look at his father. "Dad, I love you, but you haven't told her about that, right?"

Kuu shook his head, "I wouldn't do that," he said as Kuon smiled weakly and bowed his head. "Your mother requested that you do a video call with you," he said as Kuon sighed. "It'll just take a few minutes, she wants to see you alive."

"Or as alive as possible," Kuon sighed before nodding, "Yes, of course I'll talk to Mom." He looked down. "I love Kyoko, I don't think being with her right now is the right thing to do, but I love her. I want her to be happy."

"Shouldn't it be about what you want and what makes you feel better?" Kuu asked honestly. He loved Kyoko but if being with the girl was going to cause Kuon more trouble than do him good and make him better, well, Kuon's life would always be more valuable to him.

"She's a motivation for me, an inspiration, but to think that I'm in no position to be her boyfriend. Dad, I feel weaker and more pathetic than ever. I've had to choose the life of Kuon Hizuri because there's no chance of my being Ren Tsuruga right now. That guy was beloved, he was charismatic and charming, he was known for his work ethic and his attitude towards doing a serious job. I don't have the strength to be Ren any longer," he said before coughing.

Kuu frowned and stood up, "I'm going to make some tea for your throat," he decided. "I know that you take after me with your stage name, Kuon, but you are _still_ Ren Tsuruga and you always will be. Maybe the name doesn't matter, but you fully lived as him for years, you can't just erase that growth," Kuu commented and Kuon looked down.

"I'm not trying to disown it, in my condition right now I _can't_ perform as him. Ren Tsuruga never got sick. He never had trouble or difficulty with his body other than a slight cold. He wouldn't get himself in this condition. I've always been Kuon Hizuri underneath, someone twisted and weak and warped. I've always been this mess underneath the suits of Ren Tsuruga." Kuon argued. He didn't want to admit to having been Ren, the current him _wasn't_ like Ren and to pretend that he was was to disrespect the memory of Ren Tsuruga.

Nobody would recognize him anyway other than Kyoko.

He didn't want to say it aloud, but Ren Tsuruga had passed away and soon he would too. He didn't have the strength to continue past these final few months. At least he had a spark of light now in his girlfriend who he would ultimately end up disappointing.

 **End of Chapter Four**

 **AN2:** Thank you to everyone who reads and supports this fic. Special shout out to my Chapter Three reviewers: brennakai, Crazy4Animation, PandashipsCS, and paulagato **. Thank you.**


	5. Chapter 5 - A different person

**AN1:** First of all, yay, Friday is my birthday. Because of this I'm not entirely sure how many updates there will be but yay. Now I am even older than Yashiro. Sad because when I started reading Skip Beat I was only a couple of years older than Kyoko.

 **AN2:** I know that a new Skip Beat chapter is out or is out soon. I have not seen raws. I will be reading the new chapter but do not have high expectations of it. I will write _my_ stories regardless of it. I just want to tell everyone who might get upset because the mangaka is trying to exhaust every storyline possible before they get together, that things do turn out alright in the end. I will continue on this at the end of the chapter so I hope you enjoy 😉

 **Chapter Five – A Different Person**

The next day Kyoko still hadn't finalized her plans to arrange a meeting between Kuon and Bo, but Kuon had requested her help and so after she had finished her class and spoken to the director on her latest project, she had come to the hotel room. She eagerly tapped on the door before seeing Sebastian standing beside the door. She wondered if he knew the truth, he most likely did.

"Good afternoon, Mogami-san," he said with a warm smile and Kyoko nodded. "I'm going to be driving the two of you today."

Kyoko hesitated. Was this such an important task as to warrant the president's right hand to help them. Of course, it was, it involved Kuon's health and him leaving the hotel was a big deal. She saw the door open and Kuu came out pushing Kuon's wheelchair. Kyoko smiled at him, she wasn't used to seeing him in a chair but it made sense. At the bottom of the chair was a bag with some medical supplies and some oxygen in case he needed it.

Kyoko still couldn't believe that he was _this_ ill.

"Hi," Kuon said as he reached out for her hand and pressed a soft kiss on the back of it. "Are you ready to go?" he asked her and Kyoko nodded as she looked at the two older men.

"I am leaving my son in yours and Kyoko's hands," he told 'Sebastian', "You know, you needn't have stayed out here, you'd have been very welcome inside."

"I am here to act as a driver and to offer my CPR training if necessary," the man nodded before looking at Kuon. "Of course, I am very privileged that you trust me enough to help Tsuruga-san," he said as he had been instructed by Lory to still call him unless Kuon requested otherwise.

Kyoko took hold of the handles of the wheelchair before sliding down so she could hug Kuon. "Where are we going?" she asked since she hadn't been given the specifics.

"To my old apartment. Boss asked me to try to organize it since I couldn't take many of my personal items to America. I need to figure out which items to keep and which to throw out or donate. I only need things that will be useful within the next three months," Kuon said as Kyoko bit her lip to stop her from protesting that it would be longer.

"Okay," she smiled, "Let's go."

Kuon nodded and Kyoko helped him down the elevator to where the company car was. It made her sad how Kuon couldn't even drive anymore in his condition. He loved his Porsche but he couldn't even enjoy that activity. Well, hopefully soon he would recover enough to be able to do so.

As they stood there, Kyoko could hear the gossip between a group of girls on the other side of the street.

"Wow, that guy looks a lot like Tsuruga-sama," one giggled, "Imagine if it was him."

"There are too many differences," the second girl pointed out. "I don't think that he looks like Ren-sama at all. He's too thin. Ren-sama is godly and he never gets sick. I heard him say that on an interview."

"Still, imagine if that was Tsuruga-sama," the first girl said. "If it was him I'd be asking for an autograph and a photo. I really want to meet him one day," she said before they disappeared around the corner. Kyoko stood very still before looking at Kuon.

"They don't realize what they're saying," she tried to tell him. "You created Ren Tsuruga, nobody else could be him."

"I know that," Kuon said although Kyoko could see him studying himself in the window of the hotel. He looked down. He knew that he looked sick but he hadn't realized that he looked so sick as to not be recognizable. Kyoko was special though. As long as Kyoko knew that he was him, he could get through this.

…..

…..

"So," Kyoko smiled as she looked around at the room determined to do well at her next task. "How do we start?" she asked Kuon as he looked around blankly. Everything had been put into boxes for when he moved but he really hadn't had time to set anything up. Things felt so different from this wheelchair. He tried to force a smile for Kyoko.

"Why don't I look through the bedroom and maybe you could get a step stall and take things out of the kitchen cupboards or maybe I should do that." Kuon sighed. He knew that if he tried to take some of the things out that he'd left in the tall cupboards, he could easily hurt himself or even faint and collapse. He didn't like the sound of either of those alternatives.

"Okay, we can do that," Kyoko said nervously. She looked at him and bit her lip. She didn't want to make any comment about how she thought it would be easier for them to do together. He obviously had things on his mind and maybe he didn't want to share what had been in his bedroom. She didn't want to pry. If it was porn though, well there were many men who had those items in their rooms.

"What is it?" Kuon asked, "I'll be fine looking through some boxes," he attempted to assure her and Kyoko looked down.

"So, your apartment? Why didn't you just sell it and get rid of the items before you did the treatment?" she asked though was scared when he didn't reply immediately.

"Because I thought that…we thought that I'd be coming back," Kuon said and Kyoko nodded.

"And now?"

"And now we don't," Kuon said as Kyoko tried to stop herself from breathing too fast. "So, shall we see what we can give away and what needs to be trashed?" he asked her and Kyoko nodded. She didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes. She already knew that they weren't going to accomplish getting this apartment Ren-free in just a day but no matter how long it took, once they were finished with their task this would just be another part of him she'd have to say goodbye to.

She walked past a small bookcase and smiled as she realized that there were shelves of scripts that he had from all of his past projects. She wondered why he had never taken these with him or why he hadn't given them to Yashiro. She looked at them, he'd want them, right? Well, if he was on the fence about them she would suggest Kuu to have them but really this was Ren. All of these words on these pages were what he accomplished as Ren. Just imagining these pages being scattered would be devastating almost as if they were ashes blowing away across -

She couldn't breathe. Kyoko closed her eyes and attempted to gain control of herself. She imagined seeing Kuon turn into ashes and then blow away from her as if he never existed at all. She didn't want to admit her fear of losing him especially when he was suffering from the fear of dying himself.

As Kyoko tried to clear her own head, she heard a loud crash from the bedroom and moved quickly into the room. She looked at the floor where there was a pile of clothes and Kuon who was slumped on the bed, trying to get control of his breaths. Of course, he'd be a stubborn fool, he had _always_ been a stubborn fool.

Kyoko's eyes widened as she noticed how he was wearing an ill-fitting suit that had looked perfect on him before. She had seen him wear this on a number of occasions, but it showed her small and fragile his weaker self was and it made her pause as she looked at him. He had changed so much in just a short amount of time.

She knelt on the bed and tried to move him so that he was flat against it before feeling his pulse. She closed her eyes as she counted, it seemed okay. He was still breathing awkwardly and so she very gently brushed her fingers against his throat to see if there was any abnormality, he seemed fine. As she crouched over him, in a position she had only been in a few times before, she saw him open his eyes.

"Hi there, did I scare you?" he asked as she was taken in by those amazing emerald eyes.

This wasn't fair. How could her friend be living with this sickness? How could the man she loves be dying without the option of them having a proper relationship? She closed her eyes and shook her head without knowing what to say. She didn't want to be a burden on him and she wanted to help him fight. She could go and cry alone later but this wasn't _her_ struggle, it was Kuon's.

"I was scared that you weren't okay? Did you change into this?" she asked as she let her fingers judge how bony his arms had become. He had never been one for eating big meals, but this anorexically thin body wasn't the Ren Tsuruga she knew.

"No. It magically appeared on my body," he attempted to joke and Kyoko rolled her eyes.

"You idiot," she told him before looking down, her heart aching in her chest.

Kuon nodded and slowly sat up so that his back was resting against the wall, "I'm sorry for that, Kyoko," he told her as she looked at him and nodded trying not to cry over how different we was. "How does it look? Now, if I was wearing this for an event, I think we should make some adjustments," he told her and Kyoko nodded.

"Why don't I help you get changed back into your sweats?" she asked and saw a bit of fear on his face. "Kuon, I know that you thought I once undressed you but it's been a long time since then. You told me that you'd be my boyfriend and I'm not talking about -"

"I can do it myself," Kuon argued with her stubbornly and Kyoko looked down and nodded. She felt empty.

"Okay, I'll wait for you to call me back in," she told him. As she walked out of the room, her eyes caught onto a familiar tie. She picked it up and turned it over. This was the tie that he had worn when he had met her for the second time as Ren and told her she didn't have what it took to pass the LME entrance auditions. She remembered the hate that she had had for him at the time.

As she held the tie in her hand, she noticed that Kuon hadn't seen her pick it up and so stuffed it into her pocket. Hopefully he wasn't anal enough to actually notice her take it. Even though it wasn't the best memory for the two of them, it had been coated and dipped in dislike and sour aftertastes, it was still a memory that she would always have of him. A precious memory. She _needed_ to keep hold of that tie and hope that he didn't know.

As she turned around to close the door, her eyes caught on his bare chest for a moment and what she saw left her heartbroken. She could remember when she had crashed in on him whilst he was showering as Setsu. She remembered how she had felt sad she didn't take a closer look to make a perfect doll. Maybe if she had never seen him without his shirt on before, she could have argued that the photographs of him were touched up.

What she had just seen was so different and she didn't want to let him see her break.

He was so scarily fragile.

 **End of Chapter Five**

 **AN3:** Thank you so much to everyone who reads and supports this fic. A special shoutout to the reviewers of Chapter Four: **brennakai, DreamIdol, PaulaGaTo**

 **AN2 (Continued Long):**

So, I started off with shipping two characters in a British TV Show called "The Animals of Farthing Wood." Real old school. I was in love with the characters of Bold and Whisper, but **spoiler** Bold died **spoiler** and that relationship was ruined. Then I started shipping Ash and Misty, but we see how that turned out. Then I shipped Fry and Leela, much more positive but it took a really long waiting period. After that I think I shipped a lot of Harry Potter characters, fortunately Harry and Ginny got together though in my fanfics she had a soft spot for Draco too. Remus and Sirius did not.

Then came one of my most disillusioned ships, Yuki and Tohru. Okay, so I didn't like Kyo for a really stupid reason, because his dubbed voice was annoying to my ears. I also loved Yuki because he seemed more of a kind introvert. I obviously read that wrong because I got depressed when **spoilers** Yuki and Tohru didn't get together **spoilers** but then I decided how much I loved Hatsuharu and Rin (Isuzu). I think after that I was shipping my most rewarding couple, Hikari Hanazono and Kei Takishima from Special A. If you want to see a cute couple then definitely look that manga up.

Then I read Skip Beat for the first time and fell for the Ren and Kyoko relationship but the chapters were updated in a painfully slow amount of time and at that time I couldn't deal with patience. I instead turned to Glee, which taught me a _lot_ of lessons in painful shipping. First of all, I shipped Bartie and Tike just because of the way I came in during Season 2 after 'Never Been Kissed' but I also shipped Kurt coBlaine and let me tell you that being a shipper of those two led me through depression and back out the other side. I'm not going to go into depth because I'm sure the painful story is the same for anyone who loves Kurt coBlaine. I dealt with feelings of self-hate, trust issues, and much more than any story should lead you to do.

So now I'm back to Ren/Kuon and Kyoko and I can see that the same things are happening here. The author is trying to play on people's emotions by doing things that are not going to get a positive reception but if this wasn't just to create a rise from the readers, there wouldn't have been such background between Ren and Kyoko. Now, depending on the coldness of the writer Kyoko is either going to end up with (a) Kuon (b) nobody or (c) a completely new guy who just "steps in." There's a lot of unexplored territory here and the writer needs to not get the two characters together just yet. So, please ride it out if it looks bad. It's because I've been through it time and time again and I know what pain and heartache looks like.


	6. Chapter 6 - Don't You Dare Quit

**AN:** Hi everyone 😊 Thank you so much to those who left me birthday wishes, it meant a lot to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter, thank you for choosing to read it.

 **Chapter Six – Don't You Dare Quit**

It was hard to concentrate on the lesson despite how important it was going to be for the upcoming test. Kyoko had been glad at first that she would have time to devote to her school and to go to her classes, but if she didn't pay attention, was it worth it? Kyoko looked at the piece of paper in front of her where she had jotted down a list of things that were easier to do with Kuon. Today she would head over to his old apartment and continue on sorting out his possessions.

His outlook on life wasn't comforting to her.

He had always been strong but whatever his condition was, he didn't seem to _view_ himself as a strong person anymore. He seemed to think that in three months or less he would die without question. That bothered her. Even in dire circumstances, he had been alright. He was Corn, her fairy prince, he shouldn't doubt that.

Kyoko felt her tears appearing in her eyes again. Okay, now she really had to concentrate on the lesson, she couldn't allow them to know the condition of Ren Tsuruga. She took her pencil and saw how shaky her handwriting was. This class would still be here after three months even if she wasn't taking it, but Kuon might not be. Was it even worth doing anything other than staying by his side?

Kyoko saw Mimori looking at her and she tried to distract herself.

Soon the class had ended and Kyoko was happy that it was her last class, she could go see him and make sure that he was alright. She put her books into her bag before leaving the classroom. She wanted to see him. Despite how she could see his entire ribcage when she had looked at him in the bedroom the previous day, she wanted to make sure that he was breathing and that he was okay.

As she got to the outside of the building she saw "Sebastian" holding a sign with her name on it. That was strange? She blushed before looking around and saw a few students looking at the man who would seem more in place at an airport than a school. Kyoko had to ignore them and she came over to the man and bowed. "Good afternoon," she said and looked confused at a black company car before smiling.

If he was out of the hotel room, that meant that he was better or at least healthier. That meant that she could help him with his list and she could do her best to see him smile. If he only had three months to live, which she was arguing against every day, then she at least wanted to make those the three happiest months of his life. She watched as the door was opened for her and slipped in only to face the _wrong_ blond.

"Kuu-sama?" she asked as she saw him look as if the world was coming to an end. "What is it?" she asked hesitantly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer. "Did something happen?" Kuu shivered and pressed two fingers to his forehead to steady himself. He took ragged breaths in and out before turning towards Kyoko.

"Kuon's in the hospital," he said which made Kyoko freeze. "He's slipped into a coma, I…"

Kyoko looked down as tears ran down her cheek and she tried to cover her face with her arm despite how her whole body was shaking. He had wanted to do the things on the list so badly, he couldn't just die now. He should be able to do the things that he wanted to do. He had helped her so much, he had given her so much and now it seemed like his life was taken away even earlier than he had thought.

Pulling Corn out of her back, she held the stone close to her heart and then managed to calm herself down enough to speak. "What happened?" she had to ask as Kuu looked forwards with his eyes hollow and his expression showing all of his pain that he had been holding onto.

"He was taking a shower and collapsed," Kuu said simply. "I don't know if he hit his head or if it was just his body which hit the floor, but I couldn't wake him. He couldn't seem to breathe and his body was getting colder and colder and so I took him to his doctor who told me that it seemed that he -" Kuu shook his head. He couldn't finish the sentence and he looked at the bottom of the car. "I'm sorry," he whispered and Kyoko noticed that they weren't going in the direction of the hospital but rather in the direction of her home.

It was at this point that she realized she wouldn't be allowed to see him. They didn't want her to see him.

"Don't wor-worry, father" Kyoko said as she saw Kuu flinch at that term, "Kuon's strong. He's the strongest person that I know, he wouldn't let this defeat him. He's going to be just fine," she argued with Kuu who just sat there and looked ahead of him not even able to argue with her but Kyoko could tell that he wanted to.

The silence was the worst part. Kuu had seemed to cut himself off from the world and Kyoko knew that if Kuon did die which terrified her so much, Kuu might not be able to recover to the happy person that she knew him to be. Kuon meant that much to him. Their relationship, despite the years that they had spent separated from one another, meant a lot to him.

They had soon arrived at the Daruma-ya and Kyoko looked at Kuu. "Kuu-sama," she said as he looked at her and nodded without saying anything, "Could you please keep me informed?" she asked.

"Of course, have a good night," Kuu said as he saw her nod.

"The same to you," she said, "If he wakes up, please tell him that I love him?" she requested and Kuu nodded shakily. Kyoko closed the door and went to the back of Daruma-ya where she could crouch down in the alley and cry without anyone knowing about it. She clutched Corn in her hands and sobbed loudly. She didn't care if she was heard, the pain was too much to not be let out.

"Kuon, please, please pull out of this?" she begged. She closed her eyes as she remembered how he had phoned her up one time and she had looked around not able to see him only to see him looking down upon her. It was soon after the Kyurara commercial came out. She could see his smiling face as Ren Tsuruga, she could hear his words of encouragement.

She could remember how she had pretended to be Corn's savior and kiss him before she had seen him "fly" off the balcony in Guam. She still didn't know how he had managed to do that, but she had seen him fall off a wall and she had seen him fight. He had been so strong. How could an illness beat him?

"Kuon," she said before trying to gain enough composure to enter the restaurant. She snuck in and immediately went to her room. As she opened the door and stepped into her room, her eyes were drawn to the two pictures on the wall and she looked at the picture of Ren. "Kuon," she said as she came closer to it and studied his face.

Why had she hated him so much all that time ago? Why had she put this up because she wanted to destroy him and steal the number one spot from him?

He had acted as a jerk because of how much he had loved acting, because of all the sacrifices that he had personally had to make to _be_ an actor. He had had so many bad things happen in his life and he deserved so much better.

She closed her eyes as she felt that painful tug in her chest as she remembered when he had spoken to Bo about forming Katsuki's character. He had told her with such a pained expression that he couldn't have anyone important to him, that he had to live his life alone. She didn't want him to be alone. She couldn't stay here, she had to see him. Even if she had to break in and find a way to run through the hospital undetected, even if she could only speak to a comatose Kuon, she wanted to be with him.

She needed to make sure that he wasn't alone anymore and prove that he was so loved.

"I really do love you," she told the picture before looking at the poster of Shou and got onto her knees as she took it down. Her revenge? What a stupid emotion. Revenge was for people who weren't satisfied with what they were lucky enough to have right in front of them. She didn't care about that. Let Shotaro Fuwa do whatever he wanted to do. All she wanted was to be with Kuon and see him pull through this.

At that moment her grudges seemed to disappear in her with only a few remaining as she realized how much more important Kuon was to her, how he would _always_ be so much more important than revenge. "Please," she whispered, "Fairy kingdom, if there is a fairy kingdom, please save him, please don't let him die," she begged.

…

…

Kuu paled as he was told that Kuon's health was actually getting worse by the doctor. He regretted stepping away from his son for even a second. He looked down and closed his eyes so that nobody could see his pain. "Is there anything that I can do for him?" he asked as the doctor looked down.

"Whether he pulls out of this or not is something that only time can tell," the doctor said as Kuu looked down. At least there was a chance of his son surviving and waking up. Kuu felt a cold chill through his body and felt as if he was drowning. It was as if the ground below him was opening up and getting ready to swallow him whole.

He felt as if he was going to become stone and then crumble into a million fragments. Kuon wouldn't give up, would he? As he stood there, Kuu heard one voice that would wake him up from anything.

"Kuu!" Julie yelled as she came over to him and flung her arms around his neck. She pulled him to face her and placed a hand on his cheek as he looked at her and his body shook. "Is he that bad?" she asked as Kuu pulled her close to him. "I thought if we brought him over here, he would get better? Is that not the case?" she asked as she looked over to the doctor.

"I was told that Kuon went under another name but nobody told me what that was. If I could pull up any medical data that would be under that name," he said as Kuu hesitated. Ren had left the country. Ren Tsuruga had disappeared. Would all of his work be tarnished if his proper name was attached to it?

Julie knew that that didn't matter. All that mattered was if her little boy could pull through this.

"Yes," she nodded as she tried to wipe some tears away.

"And what name would it be?" the doctor asked and Julie looked at Kuu and then nodded.

"Tsuruga Ren."

 **End of Chapter Six**

 **Thank you for Reading**

 **AN2:** Special thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Five: Ashenvale, Crazy4Animation, DreamIdol, ktoll9, Shadowheart


	7. Chapter 7 - A Bird

**AN:** I completely rewrote this chapter because I was finding myself having problems on how to continue it. This is taking place over the chapter which was just here. I hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter Seven – A Bird**

As Kyoko entered the agency that night, she could only concentrate on Kuon and how sick he was and more than that that he had actually reached that point of illness as quickly as it seemed he had. If this was the case then his list of things that he wanted to do – even such a short list – wouldn't be fulfilled. Would Kyoko always go through life thinking that his life had been unfulfilled despite the fact that he had carved a place for himself within the Japanese acting community.

After all that had happened, was that still an accomplishment or would it be overshadowed by Kuu Hizuri and his Shuuhei Hozu.

Kyoko still had the same thoughts that she had expressed to Ren and Yashiro whilst she had been playing the role of Kuon. Though it was maybe a bit bias since she had seen so much of his work and so little of Kuu's recent work, she did consider Ren the better actor. Maybe it was because his background was so much more terrifying than Kuu's. Maybe it was because Kuu had grown up in Japan and Kuon had grown up in America whilst spending his teenage years in Japan. Maybe it was because he was so desperate to prove his worth as a person.

What she would most remember about Kuon though was his friendship. She would remember Ren's words which had always driven her to have more passion. She would remember how much she loved him and think about how she might have even been lucky enough to marry him. She smiled softly before groaning and slammed her hand against the wall.

People stared at her as she repeatedly slammed her hand against the wall and placed her head on it with tears in her eyes. "Damn it," she whispered painfully. She wrapped an arm around her body and shivered. "He's not dead yet," she tried to tell herself. It was bad luck to start thinking of a person as dead when they weren't and Corn had strength that other people didn't have. He could pull through this.

"Please try, I'll try too…" she whispered.

She felt someone behind her but she was too busy trying to focus on getting rid of her own pain and negative thoughts. There had been many times when someone had approached her and it had meant bad luck for her. It had meant that Idiot Number One or Idiot Number Two had come in and she couldn't deal with either of them right at this moment. If it was Maria or Moko they would have said something to her.

"Excuse me," a woman said in a very clear and beautiful voice which reminded her of a rich young lady. "Are you Kyoko?"

Kyoko stayed very still and then felt the woman place a hand on her shoulder. As Kyoko flinched, the woman pulled back and Kyoko turned around to see a woman in her late forties with the beauty of a supermodel. Her long blond hair was flowing over her shoulders and she had a pained expression on her face. She had the same emerald eyes that Kuon had as well as the same hair color.

"Are you -" Kyoko said before seeing the woman bow gracefully.

"Hello," she smiled looking even more gorgeous. She bowed gracefully with her hands together and spoke in perfect Japanese, "My name is Hizuri Julienna. Thank you so much for your help with my son. I am so grateful for your help."

Kyoko's eyes widened as she looked at the woman in front of her and she bowed very deeply, her cheeks turning red as she looked down. She had always heard from Kuu about Julie's beauty and she had seen the photo briefly of Kuon with his parents but her beauty couldn't be captured on any photograph. She looked as if she would be a perfect casting choice for the goddess of Aphrodite.

"I haven't done anything, not really," she said and Julie sighed.

"You've done so much. My son isn't doing so well at this time. He might not be able to set foot outside of a hospital room again and he might not have very long to live," Julie tried to brush away her tears. "But he's fighting because of you. He's happy because of you and you don't understand how important his happiness is to me."

"He's still sick though," Kyoko whispered and looked down. "I know that I'm not family but could you please allow me to see him? I know that he might not respond right now and Father, Kuu-sama, must be very worried about him but I want to talk to him even if…" Kyoko looked down sadly, "even if he can't respond back."

Julie nodded, "You're a good girl, Kyoko-san," she smiled. "Shall we return to the hospital right now or are you bu—"

"I was going to report to the president but that doesn't have to be done now. I'd love to see him," Kyoko said before her eyes widened and she bowed again, this time apologetically. "I cut you off. I'm sorry. I'm just excited about seeing him, please finish what you were saying."

"No harm done so the bow isn't necessary," she smiled before nodding trying to hide her own sadness. "I think that maybe if you have the same energy around Kuon then he will find the possibility of having that energy himself. That is what I want. I want to see him happy and awake and alive."

"Is there still a possibility of him living through this?" Kyoko asked hesitantly. She saw Julie think it over before nodding.

"There is, but Kyoko, no matter what happens I'm his mother. I am always going to be his mother. Even when I'm in heaven and looking down on him or even if he's gone and I'm not, my position as his mother is never going to change. It was my husband who stopped me from looking at the timetables of all the flights between LAX and Narita."

Kyoko looked at Julie and saw the same hope in her eyes that she had seen so many times in Ren's. She had already noticed all the similarities between Kuu and Kuon but now she was starting to see the other side and how much of Kuon was inherited or influenced by his mother. He had such good, strong, and loving parents. They didn't deserve their son to die. _He_ didn't deserve to die.

…..

…..

As Kyoko entered the hospital after Julie, the two went up to Kuon's room to see a relieved Kuu sitting outside. He looked up at them before throwing his arms around Julie who was getting nervous seeing his awkwardness. "Why aren't you in there with him?" she asked before putting a hand to her chest. She shook her head. No, there was no way that her husband would be happy about their little boy dying.

"What's going on Kuu?" Julie asked as she momentarily forgot about the young actress that she had brought in to see the ill man.

"He woke up, it seems like the doctors didn't read the charts or there was something that they weren't expecting but he woke up," Kuu said and Julie let out a sound showing her delight. "The doctor is checking on him now, he's very weak but they managed to find a drug that works for him."

Kyoko looked at them almost not believing what she was hearing.

Before they had said that it would be hard to prepare a cure and Kuon was even expecting himself to die. Now they were able to find something to at least stabilize him. She felt the happiness sink in on her before closing her eyes. Usually when she was this happy there was some drawback or things weren't as magical as she thought.

Kuon, in her eyes, was always capable of doing impossible things but she had never been that lucky. She had been the one who had always drawn the short straw, she was the one who had always been left out in the rain whilst all of the other children were inside. The luckiest thing that had ever happened to her was that a boy that she had met as a child had moved to America to work at the same agency where she, after following a childhood friend who would abuse and take advantage of her to Toyko, would end up working.

That didn't happen to everybody and especially if they were continents apart from one another but could she ever wish for any other miracles to happen. Maybe she was supposed to feel gratitude that he was even in her life but seeing him would never be enough. She needed him beside her.

Kyoko looked up to see a doctor exit the room and her eyes widened as she took a step forward. She needed to hear the news but she knew his parents needed to know more. Maybe she would have a future with Kuon but they had a past, they were far more important than she was.

"He's recovering. He's still very weak and there are other complications, his mind is very hazy right now but we're hoping that's just because of his exhaustion. We'll need to keep him for inpatient care, but he's recovering," the doctor said and Kuu felt his heart beat at that knowledge. He slipped his hand into Julie's and went into the room.

Kyoko looked at them before she nervously followed behind them. She stood looking at Kuon as he looked at them and smiled. She took a seat by the window as she watched him with his parents. He needed them right now. She wasn't nearly as important as they were.

Kyoko looked away for a moment as she heard a bird fly onto a tree and start chirping. She smiled as she remembered how she had met Ren in the woods during the location shoot of Dark Moon and when they had walked back together, he had pointed out to her different birds. She had always thought that that was an odd place to find Ren but with Kuon it felt like the perfect place.

"It's a bird," Kuon said weakly as Kyoko saw him looking to her, he looked so exhausted and she could see immediately in his eyes how hard he had been fighting for the ones he loved.

Kyoko nodded, "Yes. I think it might be a sparrow," she said before looking at Kuu who was walking over to the window.

"Did you want me to make it fly away? Is the chirping hurting your head?" he asked and Kyoko looked at him. She thought about how she had pretended to be Kuu's son and had how she had asked him what the name of a bird was in Japanese. She remembered how naturally he had woken up and how shocked he had been to see that it wasn't his son and it was just her pretending to be him.

"No. It's…I like it," Kuon said as he let his eyes slip closed and stretched slightly as he listened to the song that the bird was singing. Kyoko dared herself to stand up and took some nervous steps over to his side, dropping onto her knees in front of him.

"I'm so glad that you're awake," she told him with a sweet smile.

Kuon nodded with soft breaths. "I'm glad that I found an angel," he said as she watched him. She hoped that he wasn't talking about going to some place with a strong bright light and angels welcoming him. She didn't want him to die. She wanted to go around and finding ways for them to be happy together.

She watched him before seeing him reach out for her hand.

"Stay with me?" he asked her and Kyoko smiled in relief.

"Always," she said not realizing the word until it had left her mouth. She blinked in surprise before she relaxed. Despite not meaning to say that, she meant it. She would stay with him for as many minutes or hours that he wanted and hopefully she would one day look back and see how those minutes became years and those hours became decades of being with him.

 **End of Chapter Seven**

 **Thank you for Reading**

 **Thank you, reviewers of original Chapter Seven:**

Ashenvale, brennakai, Guessitguest, Kris, paulagato, SyntheticDesire21

 **Thank you, reviewers of Chapter Six:**

Ashenvale, brennakai, Crazy4Animation, DreamIdol


	8. Chapter 8 - Getting Through the Changes

**AN:** In case anyone isn't aware, I rewrote the previous chapter and so this follows from that. I hope you enjoy.

 **Chapter Eight – Getting Through the Changes**

Kyoko arrived eagerly at the hospital the next day. This morning she would only be there for a little bit but then she would come again later and spend more time with him. She had to admit that this was one of the best Love Me assignments she had been asked to do. She had been asked to spend time with someone she cared for deeply.

As she got to the hospital, she bowed deeply to the receptionist that she had met the previous night and set off to the room where Kuon was. She thanked the woman in the elevator for holding it open for her and then counted the room to Kuon's. She paused as she saw a doctor doing a check up on him.

"Morning," she smiled softly and the woman nodded to her.

"Good morning, it seems that your friend is making progress here. Always a good sign," she said and Kyoko grinned excitedly. Maybe they had found the cure. Maybe he would continue to live a good life.

"Kyoko?" Kuon said as he looked at her from the bed. He still looked weaker and more delicate than he usually did, but she could see a spark of life in his eyes as well. "You didn't have to come so early," he said weakly before coughing.

"Try not to talk a lot," the doctor reminded him and Kyoko looked down.

She wondered if his chest hurt. There were things that they could do together other than talk or maybe he wouldn't mind if she spoke to him and he listened. Was that unfair? She was his junior after all and rambling on to a senior was most likely not seen as appropriate. As the doctor finished her examination and left, Kyoko approached him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him gently as he looked at her. The way he watched her made her feel special. It was as if he was taking in an art piece and she found herself so much more than plain to him. She sat down in a chair. "I'm happy to hear that you're making progress. Maybe you won't have to stay in the hospital for that long."

Kuon nodded and reached out for her hand which Kyoko held and then squeezed a little.

"Are Kuu-sama and Julie-sama here as well?" she asked and he nodded. Kyoko paused, "I want to talk to them before I leave, is that okay?" she saw Kuon nod again. "I brought you some books and some old scripts that you did and then I brought you a sweater and this," Kyoko took a bento out of her bag along with a thermos.

"Kyoko, you didn't -" Kuon said and Kyoko shook her head.

"You don't have to eat it if you don't feel up to it but I know that your parents will want you to eat something. I picked dishes that would be easy on your throat but still full of good nutritional benefits. The thermos has some water with a little lemon and a tiny bit of ginger. I thought it would be better than any of the food they provide here," she looked down nervously as she blushed. She hadn't meant to give herself praise over the hospital but she felt that it was acceptable in the circumstances. "I have to go to school soon so senpai doesn't scold me," she teased to him jokingly, "but I don't have work tonight so I'll be over as soon as my classes finish."

"You put in a lot of work," Kuon said before smiling and closing his eyes, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Kyoko grinned. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Better," Kuon replied to her. "My head's still a little foggy, they tell me it might be a side effect of the new medication."

Kyoko nodded as she looked at the books. Maybe that was the wrong choice, maybe music would be better for him. She knew that there were things that he liked to read but if that made him feel worse then she didn't want him to over exert himself. "Is it really bad?"

Kuon shook his head, "Just not up to my usual quickness," he laughed.

Kyoko nodded before looking down at Princess Rosa which she was wearing around her neck. She remembered how he had told her that story and how it had made her smile even after she had messed up with the filming. He had told her that story so that she would regard this jewel as a precious item. The most precious thing in her life right now was him.

"That's alright. I'm sure that that will improve," she smiled as she let her hand run over his head. "I love you," she whispered and he smiled back at her.

"I love you too," he said before letting his eyes close. "You have to go to school now, right?"

"I've got a couple of minutes that I can spare," Kyoko told him as she saw Kuon nod. Maybe she should leave and let him get some rest.

"I'm going to go to sleep but if there's something that you want to talk abou-"

Kyoko smiled softly, "You get some rest then. Is there anything that I can bring you after school? Is there anything that you want?"

"I just want you to bring your smile with you," Kuon said before he fell asleep. Kyoko blinked back tears as she looked at him and very softly pressed a kiss to his forehead. She placed a hand on his cheek before tucking him into the bed.

"I'll be back, I promise," she told him. She saw Kuu at the doorway and bowed to him. "I'll be back later, Father," she whispered so as not to wake him up. "The doctor -"

"Caught me up," Kuu smiled as he looked at his little boy. "It's good but we have to give him time to recover and hope for the best." Kyoko smiled before bowing again and left.

…..

…..

Julie watched as Kuon slept. She kept touching his upper arm and then pulling back not knowing what to do. She just wanted him to be okay and he was recovering but she was scared that he would improve and then when they were hoping for the best, he would crash again and get to a point worse than he had been a day ago.

"Mom," Kuon whispered as she touched him again, "You can leave your hand there if you want," he said with his eyes closed. He took another breath in and looked towards the bento. "Can I eat a little more in a moment?" he asked as Julie nodded whilst holding back tears.

Kuu took the bento and brought it to him as he had asked, "Do you want any water?" he asked and Kuon nodded.

"Would you be able to bring some ice chips?" he asked and Kuu nodded, his hand running over Kuon's head as he left.

Julie pressed herself against the bed and gave Kuon a loving side hug as he lay there. As she came close to him though she noticed the tears in his eyes and pulled back. She didn't know why her son was crying and she didn't want to make him feel worse. She could only imagine it was from the pain of being ill but she worried it was something worse.

"Kuon," she finally gave in to her motherly instincts, "Are you okay, darling?"

"Do you think she'll leave me if she knows?" Kuon asked with his eyes closed. He reached out for the sheets and gripped a fistful before shaking. "My head," he tried to explain before Julie could get any words out, "It's hard to think of words. It's hard to think," he said and Julie put a hand to her mouth to stop any sobs from coming out. "The doctor said my mind might get worse."

"I know," Julie nodded, "I know that she said that but she also said that there's a definite chance of improvement. I know that I don't know her very well but with the way you and your father talk about her, I don't think that she's the type of girl who can't face a challenge."

"If that hurts her more," Kuon said as he opened his eyes and tried to sit up in the bed.

Julie helped him up and she wrapped her arms around him lovingly. "She won't do that. What would hurt her more is if you kept away from her because you're scared she can't handle this. Darling, your father and I will always be here for you. No matter how much you change or if you need to live in an assisted living facility, we're here for you."

"Your jobs are important to you," Kuon told her as he repeated something that he had known since childhood. "You can't give them up."

"We can," she nodded to her son, "Look, I'm not saying that it won't be difficult for the two of us, but your father could get an acting job easily over here if that's where you wanted to stay and I always feel that I'm getting too old for modelling. I'll leave it to the younger girls."

"You're still beautiful," Kuon commented. "I don't want you to give up your modelling just to be with me. I don't want to be the adult son who you have to care for," he argued and Julie sighed. She placed a hand on his back and sat on the edge of the bed with him.

"Isn't that my choice, Kuon?" she asked lovingly. "Anyway, don't think about the possibilities, we just want you to feel better. If there's anything that your father and I can help you with," she said as she saw Kuu arrive with some ice. He put some of it into a cup before getting the water for Kuon.

"Dad, please tell her she can't do that," Kuon said as Kuu looked between the two people he loved most.

"Can't do -" he said unsure having missed most of the conversation.

"We're discussing the fact that I want to take care of him if his mind starts to fade," Julie said bluntly. "He's talking about how I should prioritize my work over him. He's saying that you shouldn't care for him either."

"I refuse," Kuu said as Kuon smiled slightly, "I refuse to listen to that. If my son needs someone to take care of him then there is absolutely no way that I am letting a stranger do it. I will be there. It's my duty as a father and one that I want to take."

"If it's your duty then -" Kuon began but Kuu cut him off.

"Okay, maybe duty is the wrong word. It's my privilege to take care of my child. As a father I get that right and I am going to own that right. If you ever become a father one day then you will understand that you want to be with your kid. Don't let the fact that we sent you to Japan cloud your thinking," Kuu said passionately as he handed his son the cup of water.

Julie rubbed Kuon's back, "All we want is for you to be healthy again, Kuon. That's all that any of us really want."

Kuon looked down with a weak smile, "Kyoko won't -what if Kyoko leaves?" he asked and heard someone enter the room.

"Don't go saying irresponsible things now, it most likely won't help your condition," a man said and Kuon looked at him before smiling in relief.

"Hi, Boss," he said with a cough as Lory tried to hide his sadness as he stood in a pirate costume looking at the sick man in front of him. "What have you come to tell me?"

 **End of Chapter Eight**

 **Thank you for reading**


	9. Chapter 9 - Supportive Family

**Hi everyone, sorry it's taking me so long to update my stories. I have actually taken on about 40 hours a week at work for some extra money and have to still do school work which is another 18-20 hours so you can see why I'm not updating as much. I really thank you for your patience. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it was so much fun to write.**

 **Chapter Nine – Supportive "Family"**

Lory took a few more well paced steps into the hospital room as he took in how ill Kuon really was. He was glad that he and the actor had decided together that he was to step outside Ren Tsuruga for at least a little bit. Maybe Lory could consider himself a foolish optimist, but he had faith in his second son that he would pull through this. "Hello, Kuon," he said as Kuu pulled out a chair for him to sit down on.

Lory sighed as he looked at the dying man. He didn't want to admit that Kuon's acting might be behind both of them. He knew that the kid was strong. Was he strong enough to beat _this_ though. "I can see your true emotions right now," he said with a raised eyebrow. Maybe light-hearted playing would be the best way of dealing with this.

"Any surprises?" Kuon asked before looking down, "I don't want to give up but this is a really tough time for me," he told him and Lory nodded whilst Kuu looked away at the window.

"Yes, actually….you don't seem to know as much about love as I gave you credit for, that is actually quite a disappointment to me," the president said and Kuon looked down weakly. He closed his eyes and tried to take a few deep breaths.

"I'm only thinking of what's best for her. I'm sure that either my father or one of your informants has told you that my brain might get damaged if I continue the treatment plan," Kuon said and saw the surprise in Lory's face. "I guess we haven't told you that."

"I had an inkling from personal research but it was never told to me like that before," Lory explained before continuing to make eye contact with the young man he considered a part of his extended family and like a child to him. Lory sighed again before he looked away. "Kuon, if you want to stay at LME, I'll find a place for you no matter what the circumstances are. People know that I'm not really fond of nepotism but they also are able to work with exceptions."

"Boss, you really don't need to do that for me," Kuon argued and Lory closed his eyes.

"I'm doing it for me as well, I want to keep you close unless you want to go home to America. It's been hard to let you go without seeing you but even if you have to work as a personal assistant to me, I want you to be able to be close to your dreams. I've missed worrying about you," Lory admitted and Kuon looked down.

"Thanks, Boss," he said before looking at his parents, "As much as I'd like to stay in Japan, the doctors say that I may not be able to function properly or well enough to live alone. I can't be selfish enough to force my parents over here. They both have their own lives, mine doesn't matter as much."

Julie shifted before walking over to Kuu and looking at the two other men. "I don't mind moving here, I've told you that. If Japan is where you want to live your life then I can move here. I want to take care of you, Kuon. I don't want to let anyone else do it." Julie turned to Lory, "I want to see how he is, but if it is as bad as Kuon is predicting then I plan to retire so that I can take care of him."

"We're really hoping that this is just a fear that won't come true," Kuu added.

Lory sighed, "So am I. Listen," he said as he looked at Kuon again, "I want to arrange a visit for you when you come out of the hospital. I think that it might do you a lot of good to meet with this person. I think that maybe it might motivate you to fight harder. I ask for you to allow me to do this."

Kuon stared at him. He wanted to say no and explain that he wasn't ready to see any of Lory's connections but most of him felt that he was still indebted to the president and if this was what he wanted, then with his limited time in life, Kuon wanted to do what he asked of him.

"Okay," he nodded, "I'll meet with them."

…..

…..

Yashiro sighed as he sat at a very private restaurant with the food already prepared by a team that Lory had employed. If it wasn't for the president's investment, the restaurant wouldn't have opened as lavishly as it had. Yashiro didn't know why Lory had his own room here, but if it was a good way to meet with top secret VIPs then what on earth was he doing in here.

The last thing that he had heard the president say was that he wanted Yashiro to meet with an actor that he considered one of the best in the business and Yashiro wasn't ready to commit to another client just yet. He'd taken some time off out of loyalty to Ren, he didn't want to find someone new and then leave Ren without him. They were an excellent team.

Yashiro looked down at the floor before hearing a knock and a key turning in the back entrance way. He prepared himself to turn this actor down, maybe after he had a good meal with him. He took a deep breath before seeing Kyoko there.

"Oh my god," she said before tears came into her eyes and she turned to someone behind her. "Yashiro-san," she bowed before moving to push Kuon into the room in his wheelchair. He had been let out of the hospital only the previous day after a week of them keeping him there for observation.

Yashiro stood before his eyes widened and he looked at the man that Kyoko was wheeling into the room. Yashiro had definitely missed Ren but he was surprised to see him looking so weak and frail. What on earth had been happening during his break from acting?

"Hi, it's good to see you," Ren said, even his voice sounding weak.

"It's good to see you too," Yashiro said before making space for Kyoko to park Kuon's wheelchair. He kept examining the man and seeing how his clothes were ill-fitting on him. He had lost a lot of weight and body muscle. "How are you? I take it that this is the reason why you left acting."

"Right," Kuon nodded as Kyoko kissed his cheek. "I've been better," he told him. "I've been quite ill, I didn't think it was right to call you about my illness. I thought that it might worry you as to your work. Have you found another client yet?"

"I think my standards are too high," Yashiro said playfully, "I refuse to go for anyone who isn't pedigree and completely serious in their work. How come I haven't heard about you coming back? I'm sure that if someone heard the name Tsuruga Ren that the media would have a hard time fighting against the urge to print that?"

Kuon looked down, "Because I'm not Ren right now," he admitted, "I've been using my real name and my parents have been helping me. Trust me, you've heard of my father. He has a lot of contacts but he also knows how to cover things up. He's been….taking care of me."

"Don't tell me that the president is actually your father," Yashiro smiled but Kuon shook his head.

"My name's Kuon Hizuri," he said as Yashiro's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "My father is Kuu Hizuri. We covered up my identity so that I would have a chance to act in Japan without it being affected by the fact that I'm the son of an actor that's said to be one of the best Japan has ever had. When my father heard about what I'm going through, he didn't want anyone else to be responsible for helping me pull through it."

"Now that's…" Yashiro said before laughing, "A shocker. I can see why though. I can't believe I've had the honor of taking a young Hizuri under my wing and helping him carve his career," he said proudly and Kuon and Kyoko shared a look.

"I might not be coming back to acting," Kuon told him and Yashiro froze, "I hope all of these things can be kept confidential. I wouldn't risk telling you any of it if I didn't feel that I could trust you."

"Well, I do consider you a friend even though you might not," Yashiro said as Kuon looked a mix of shocked and heart broken.

"I consider you close and I hope that we can even improve our friendship but I just…" Kuon looked down. "Yashiro, the problem is that my brain might not work the way it used to. I may be one of those adults who is unable to take care of themselves. Already my mind is getting foggy at times. Already I have to have help with even getting dressed some mornings. If I continue on with the treatment there is a risk that I would have dementia-like symptoms," he said sadly as Kyoko looked down not wanting to say anything. "For that kind of friendship to work -"

"Do you really think that I'm that shallow minded?" Yashiro asked. "I thought that you knew me. I can be friends with all types of people and even if you do end up like that, which the saddest thing about that is how much you would hate it and feel ashamed of your condition, I'm going to be supportive towards you and I'm going to want to be there," Yashiro argued before he looked down sadly. He didn't want to show the sadness that this invoked in him, he needed to show his friendship by being supportive.

"If I can't -" Kuon started again but Yashiro looked at him.

"I care about personality not ability. Do you think that the reason that I stayed your manager for so long was just because you are an amazing actor and that is what everyone will think of you. You've cemented your position as one of the country's most talented and inspiring actors, but I can't stand people who have too high an ego and too much of an impression of themselves. I care about the fact that even if there is an actress who is stumbling over her lines, you will help her instead of being annoyed. I care about the fact that you will actually take time for your fans, that you go over to the crew and thank them and let them teach you about their job and support their pride. I care about the times when you helped Ogata-san catch his breath and be able to direct because of you taking the time to help him. Don't think that I'm some petty, glory-seeking, idiot," Yashiro said and Kuon stared at him.

"That's quite a big speech, Yashiro-san," Kyoko said as she voiced her thoughts and turned to Kuon who had a happy smile on his face.

"Thank you," he whispered. "It's hard for me to find people who see me that way. Thank you."

"it shouldn't be, but you're welcome," Yashiro said before writing something in his phone. "I want to continue to see you, Re—Kuon. I think we should spend at least an evening a week together."

Kuon smiled before looking down, "I'd like that and if you want it to stop because of my condition."

"Then you're still misjudging me," Yashiro pouted. "I'll have to prove to you that I won't be scared off that easily."

Kyoko laughed softly, "See," she told her boyfriend, "Yashiro-san wants to be your friend as much as I want to continue being your girlfriend," she said as Yashiro grinned widely.

"You're his girlfriend now," he said with a waggle of his eyebrows, "How can you not be excited about that. This is the best news ever."

 **End of Chapter Nine**

 **Thank you so much for reading and thank you for your patience**

 **Thank you, reviewers of Chapter Eight**

Brennakai, guessitguest, Kris XD, Ktoll9, paulagato


	10. Chapter 10 - Saving Memories

**AN:** I really hope you enjoy 😊

 **Chapter Ten – Saving Memories**

Kyoko couldn't help but to smile widely and spin a little as she heard the doctor's results from Kuu. Kuon was getting better. They had started him on a new drug treatment and he was reacting to that very well, he was out of the territory where he would need inpatient treatment and had taken the first step towards full physical recovery. That was great news.

Over the last week, Kuon had really been trying his best to get himself healthy again even though he did have to take a new type of pills that made him a little more confused than he usually was. Still, he was trying to achieve all that he could so that he could continue on his life and Kyoko hadn't seen that many changes in his mind. He still seemed to move and speak like Kuon.

She tilted her head as she looked at Kuu, "Is something wrong, Father?" she asked as she saw him looking at the floor as if trying to distance himself from the situation.

"I just…" Kuu looked towards Kuon as he was being wheeled out by one of the nurse's, "I hate to ask you for this because I know you'd do it anyway but he's still having some trouble with thinking and processing those thoughts, just, please don't make fun of him."

"Why would I…" Kyoko said slowly before shaking her head, "No. I wouldn't make fun of him."

"Kyoko, you haven't seen the bad times," Kuu said hesitantly, he shook his head as Kuon approached them and grinned to Kyoko.

"Hi," he said as Kuu nervously fidgeted, "Dad didn't tell me you'd be coming here today."

"Well, I wanted to surprise you," Kyoko grinned, "I didn't tell him because I thought that it would be okay for me to be here. You had a doctor's appointment and I didn't have any work scheduled and I…I thought maybe I could introduce you to a friend of mine."

"A friend of yours?" Kuon asked before looking down, "Kotonami-san doesn't know, does she?"

Kyoko paled before laughing softly and bowed her head, "Moko-chan isn't my only friend. I have another friend that I want you to meet but we'll have to go to TBM for that." Kyoko thought about where it had said that Kuon wanted to thank the TBM rooster and she hadn't told him that it was her. She was scared about his reaction but she was prepared to reveal herself for his benefit.

"TBM?" Kuon asked confused as he looked down and frowned in the same way Kyoko had seen him trying to figure out words in the past.

"Kuon?" she asked weakly, "Yeah, is it okay if we go there?" she asked and Kuon looked down as if trying to translate what she was saying. "I'm sorry, you must not want to have any chance of the public spotting you in your condition, that's okay," she laughed as Kuon looked at her awkwardly.

"Why would people care who I am?" he asked and Kyoko looked over to Kuu who seemed to be sighing and not overreacting or acting at all to what Kuon was saying. Kyoko paused with her mouth open a little.

"Because you're a famous actor," she said and Kuon looked at her before nodding.

"I know that Ren was a famous actor but people won't even notice me, right?" he asked and Kuu laughed a little in relief. Kyoko looked between the two men and then looked up as she tapped a finger on her chin.

"Well, that might be right," she hummed, "They will just have to see me with a handsome and intelligent and talented man anyway," she smiled as she looked at Kuu suspiciously. Why did he not react to Kuon saying that and act as if it had maybe happened before? How could something like that have happened before? "So, should we go?"

Kuon looked at her with a smile before staring down, "Maybe tomorrow?" he asked and Kyoko nodded. She'd have to change her plans but they could do it the following day. She could make sure to ask Hikaru for help as well.

Kuu looked between the two of them and then looked at the doctor, "Is he all signed out?" he asked as he adopted the parenting role and the doctor nodded. "We'll see you next visit," he said before taking hold of Kuon's wheelchair and pushing him off with Kyoko walking beside them.

…

…

Kyoko smiled at the TV as an episode of Dark Moon was re-aired. She looked down at Kuon and where he had fallen asleep and kissed the top of his head. She wondered if she should have Kuu move him to somewhere where he could lie down. Maybe that would be good for him. Kyoko turned to the TV where it played Katsuki's theme and smiled. He really had been able to teach her a lot, not only about acting but even about herself. She was so grateful that he had helped her with that.

"Father," Kyoko said as she saw Kuu watching the scene and his face lighting up in pride, "Do you think that we should get him onto the sofa?" she asked and Kuu nodded. Kyoko stood up ready to help but Kuu managed to pick his son up in his arms and put him on the sofa, tucking him in with a blanket.

"He needs as much rest as we can give him," Kuu said as Kyoko nodded, letting her hand brush against his forehead. "Kyoko, there's something that you need to know."

Kyoko nodded but her eyes were still glued to Kuon, "Whatever it is, Father, I'm ready for it," she said with determination and a fire behind her eyes. She was going to become the person who was the number one on the take care of Kuon Hizuri task force.

"Maybe where he can't hear us," Kuu gestured before looking down. "Kyoko, has he said anything strange to you?"

Kyoko paused before looking up trying to think carefully, "Just that he felt hungry," she admitted before nodding, "That was the strangest thing."

"His mind is skipping over some details in his life," Kuu told her and Kyoko blinked at him, "Little details. The doctor said that it was okay and that if his brain was having trouble working so fast that he might block out some information but I wanted to let you know in case it happened."

The auburn haired girl nodded again, "Thanks, Kuu-sama, I'll make sure to be aware in case a situation like that does happen," she looked back at the room where she and Kuon had been watching the episode of Dark Moon, "Is there anything else that you feel I should know?"

"Just to go easy on him," Kuu sighed, "I'm going to finish some paperwork, is there anything the two of you need down here?" he asked and Kyoko shook her head with determination.

"I've got it all sorted out," she declared before returning to the room where Kuon was waking up. Kyoko softly closed the door behind her with the fear that she had been the one to wake him up. "I'm sorry," she whispered as she looked down and saw Kuon staring confused at the TV.

"What is this?" he asked a little groggily and Kyoko smiled.

"It's Dark Moon," she told him excitedly, "I thought that maybe if we watched it together it might -"

"What's it about?" Kuon asked as his eyes slipped closed again and Kyoko paused before looking at him. He must have misheard her because there wasn't any way he could forget about something that had been connected to him in such a personal way. She knew that she'd keep remembering Mio until the day she died.

"It's Dark Moon," Kyoko said in a matter of fact way and Kuon laughed at that.

"I heard you the first time," he said and Kyoko's eyes widened, "What's Dark Moon about?" he asked and Kyoko looked down. If she didn't know how sick she was, she would have viewed this as Ren giving her a quiz on Dark Moon as some part of an enrichment test for acting to test whether she could see under the surface of a project. That didn't seem to be what was going on here.

"You don't remember Dark Moon?" Kyoko asked as Katsuki appeared on screen. Should she turn it off? If Kuon didn't remember it wasn't seeing - Kyoko's body froze as Kuon looked in shock to the screen where Katsuki and Misako were on. She saw the confusion and bewilderment in Kuon's eyes as he watched the acting that Ren had performed in the past.

"How can I not remember?" he asked stunned and Kyoko's body froze.

"Umm…because of the medication?" she asked. She saw him hold to himself and her heart seemed to stop for a moment. Maybe that was the true answer but she didn't want to rub his face in something he couldn't control. His body was getting better because he was putting his mind at risk so that he could live. Kyoko didn't want this to be the way that it turned out to be but - she froze again as she saw him shaking. Okay, maybe he was just going to laugh. That's what had happened when they had done the acting test, right? Just laughter.

"I can't - can't - why can't I remember it!?" Kuon yelled a little louder than Kyoko expected. She wasn't sure whether just telling him about the medicine was the best thing. "How can I not remember doing these things, saying these things?" he asked before he looked at his hand which was shaking. He felt his heart beat quicken and started shaking further.

"Kuon!" Kyoko immediately turned off the TV and went to crouch in front of her boyfriend, "Kuon," she said as she grabbed his wrists and saw the horror and torment on his face. It hurt her since he had always been so good at concealing his own negative emotions. "I love you. It doesn't matter that you forgot because if you calm down you'll remember," Kyoko was only guessing but it sounded correct. "I love you," she said, "No matter how much you can remember, even if you forget all about me, I love you."

Kuon shivered again but he managed to take deep breaths to steady himself, he looked at his hand which Kyoko was now holding and sighed, closing his eyes.

"I'm really sorry," he apologized to her and Kyoko placed a hand on his cheek.

"It's alright, you don't need to apologize. Maybe you should just get some rest, maybe I should -" Kyoko grabbed her bag. She didn't want to leave but if Kuon needed to rest his mind then she didn't want to become an obstacle in the way of him doing that.

"Are you scared of me? Did I scare you of?" Kuon asked in what Kyoko had to admit was a weak and timid way.

The actress shook her head, tears filling her eyes. "Of course not, I'll stay," she said as she put her bag down. "I'll stay as long as you want me to but I still feel you need your rest," she told him before closing her eyes and trying to stop her own tears. She was definitely not afraid of him but she was afraid for him. If this was how bad things were right now then who knew how bad they would get for him in the future.

 **End of Chapter Ten**

 **Thank you for Reading**

 **Thank you, reviewers Chapter Nine**

Brennakai, Erza, Kris, ktoll9, paulagato


	11. Chapter 11 - Temporary Amnesia

**AN:** I really hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you so much for your patience. I love writing so I really and truly appreciate all of your support 😊 I hope nobody sees me as a monster or in a negative life since there has been some dirt thrown at me lately. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy 😊

 **Chapter Eleven – Temporary Amnesia**

Kyoko looked across at her boyfriend as he stared blankly into the mirror. He seemed to be having even more trouble these days and Kyoko wondered whether the drugs that he was on were worth it. She knew they were keeping him alive but perhaps even reducing the dosage amount would help him retain his precious memory. She had tried to get him to go to TBM on the previous three days, thinking that she could arrange for a situation to happen where he was to meet Bo but she was worried it might scare him.

"Honey, do you…want me to…get you anything?" Kyoko asked as she put a hand on Kuon's shoulder.

She didn't like his fixation with his own reflection because it just didn't seem normal to her. The way that he was acting wasn't normal and she was scared and upset. There had to be a way to heal him before he lost everything. "No, I'm….I want to remember the way that I look," he told her and Kyoko hopped onto the bed beside him and wrapped her arms around him.

"How about you focus on the way that we look together," she said as she put a hand to his cheek and kissed him gently. He had lost so much and she hated to admit it but the old Kuon was beginning to fade away as well.

"I like that…Kyoko, I'm really sorry about this, the doctors say that the memories will return but that I have to get through this part of healing," he tried to reassure her and Kyoko pressed a kiss to his shoulder.

"Well then we'll wait for that to start happening together," she said whilst rubbing his back. "Yashiro's going to come over tonight," she said and Kuon looked at the ground as if trying to work it out.

"Yashiro Yukihito?" he asked in a scarily insecure voice and Kyoko hugged him again, scared that he was still showing all of his weight loss. She nodded, closing her eyes to keep her tears in. She didn't want to burden him any more than he already was. Her tears might have a negative effect on him and she wanted him to be happy and to enjoy life, not run from it.

"Yes, remember he's your old manager and close friend. Do you remember that?" she asked as she saw Kuon nod slowly, looking scared to answer the question. How could his memory just be disappearing like this. The doctors had said that they didn't think it was permanent but it was such a sharp fall from when he was the amazing Ren Tsuruga and it broke her heart to see him this way.

"Do you really remember, K-Kuon?" she asked not able to hold back _all_ of her emotions.

"Barely," he replied and Kyoko tried to brush away the tears in her eyes. She smiled at him, kissing him on the cheek before seeing the pain in his eyes. She checked the clock, it was almost time for his medicine anyway.

"I'll be right back, my sweet Corn," she said before getting up off the bed and going out towards the kitchen area. Maybe if he was in less pain then he could relax and if he could relax then he could remember more. He would remember all of the supportive friends he had.

Kyoko looked over at Kuu who was looking at some photographs on his phone of him and Kuon as a little boy. She put the medicine and glass of water on the table next to him and smiled as she saw how strong the father and son bond was. "It looks like the two of you had some great memories together," she commented and Kuu laughed a little hearing that.

"Yeah, I think that Kuon once thought of me as his idol," he said and looked at Kyoko, "You don't have to keep coming here if you don't want to. I'm his father, I love him unconditionally, even if he has dementia and memory loss, he's still my little boy."

"You think that he has dementia?" Kyoko asked as she saw a picture taken on Kuon's third birthday with him and his parents and the cake in front of them. He really did have loving parents, the type of parents that she had unfortunately never known.

"I'm going to go take him the medicine before he feels even more pain," Kyoko said as Kuu watched her go, he really really hoped that everything would be okay.

As Kyoko stepped into the room where Kuon was, she saw him turn her way and then look at her as if she were wearing a well constructed mask. Kyoko felt her heart pause and she shook her head. "I brought you some water and your medication," she grinned and saw the shaky way that Kuon reached out for them. "Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked and Kuon looked at her.

"I'm really sorry…" he said as he looked at her as if trying to figure out the answer to a riddle, "Who are you?"

Kyoko paused for a moment before smiling, trying to use all of her acting skills to get over this problem, "I'm a nurse hired by your father," she said as she saw him nodding along to that explanation. Kyoko bowed deeply, "Please excuse me, Hizuri-san," she said before leaving from the room.

She went to where Kuu was, tears streaming down her face and her whole body shaking. Kuu stood up and wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed into his chest. Another person had left her. "He forgot me," she sobbed as Kuu held her close.

…

…

"No," Lory said as Kyoko sat in front of him with her head down and her hands pressing down onto her knees. She didn't want to be here saying these things but she was scared. Her mother had left her behind, had never wanted her. Her father had been a con man. She had tossed the Fuwa parents away for her own dreams to follow Shotaro who had ditched her. She had built herself a new life, she had found Corn, she had found a way to love and it was now in rubble. He didn't remember her.

"No, what?" Kyoko said as she continued to have her head bowed.

"No, I'm not letting you give up on this assignment," Lory said and Kyoko felt her body shift. She didn't know what to do other than to run away. Maybe her leaving would be best for everybody, it would mean that she wouldn't be able to slip up and make a mistake, that Kuon would never get hurt by her careless actions. Kuu had even given her permission to run.

"He doesn't even remember the assignment," Kyoko said as she closed her eyes and felt the tears slip down her cheeks. "He thinks that I'm just some nurse that his father hired."

"Yes, and according to Kuu, Kuon has to go through these amnesia like symptoms for part of his cure but when he gets switched to the next medication, the doctors are sure that his memory will return and then what will happen, you mysteriously come back," Lory frowned as he tried to make the girl realize how Kuon would perceive her actions. Well, he might perceive them that way but he would never try to make her feel guilty for it.

"It's too hard to see him like this when all the memories that I have of him are -" Kyoko began but Lory cut her off.

"It's hard for me to see him too but love isn't supposed to be easy. Surely you know that much by now, love isn't easy and it's standing by the person that you love in the hardest times that proves your love. Now, do you want to be with him or not."

"I can't…." Kyoko whispered, "I can't do the assignment, put a negative one thousand stamp in my book. I know that you can just throw me out of the agency because I haven't completed the Love Me course but I…I don't care…I can't see him in that state," Kyoko said as she wrapped her arms around herself. She didn't want to hurt him. She didn't care if she got hurt by him or that she would have to play the role of someone other than his girlfriend but she didn't want to be witness to his pain without being able to help.

"I won't kick you out the agency, but I want you to think about this and consider this from all sides," Lory said and Kyoko nodded, her head still bowed.

"I just don't like seeing him in pain," she tried to explain and Lory looked at her.

"Maybe it's just that you don't like seeing him less than perfect."

…

…

Kuon looked across at the glasses wearing guy who was sitting down with him and his dad. They had both said that Kuon _knew_ this guy but he couldn't remember a thing about him. "I think I'm going to go to bed," he said as he looked between them. He saw Yashiro shift in the chair he was sitting in as if wanting to say something but chickening out at the last moment.

"Are you sure? If you don't want to watch the game then we can definitely change the channel," Kuu said awkwardly. He looked at Yashiro who was starting to act a bit more naturally around him and not so much like a fanboy. _That_ was enough to put Kuu at ease.

"No, I think that it's rude to interrupt you and your friend," he smiled to Yashiro, "It was really nice meeting you, Yuki-san…"

"Yukihito-san," Yashiro tried to correct him and saw Kuon's confusion, "Yuki is just fine though. It was nice seeing you as well, Ku—Hizuri-san," he bowed. As Kuon left the room, Yashiro sighed and turned to Kuu. "How hard is it for you seeing him this way?"

"I don't think that's a question that I'm prepared to answer," Kuu told the manager. "The doctors have all said that this is a temporary state for him but there are other things that are going to be damaged by this. I'm not sure if Kyoko feels safe returning here and I'm not sure about the friendship between you and…"

"I consider myself extremely lucky that Kuon considers me a friend," Yashiro told the actor, "even if he can't remember saying that right now. I feel happy that he once considered me that and I'm thinking that if I keep patient and stay around for the long haul that will matter most to him."

"I don't blame Kyoko for whatever decision she might make. If this happened to Julie, I'd want to be with her but it would be so hard to do. Then again Julie and I have been married for quite a number of years, just think about how old our son is," he joked. It was at this point that he heard a knock on the door and looked to Yashiro before standing up.

He made his way to the door before opening it and was surprised to see the brunette wearing the Love Me uniform. He smiled to her and tilted his head to the side. "I didn't think you'd be coming back," he said before Kyoko gave him a playful salute.

"Nurse Kyoko is here to resume operation keep Kuon happy," she grinned playfully and Kuu smiled before saluting her back.

"Glad to hear it," he said before hugging her again.

 **End of Chapter Eleven**

 **Thank you for returning to read this fic**

 **Thank you to those who reviewed Chapter Ten**

Brennakai, guessitguest, Ivy, KrisXD, paulagato


	12. Chapter 12 - You're Not My Nurse

**AN:** So, the latest manga chapter hurt my heart and that is going to lead to slower updates, only when it doesn't hurt will I be writing so thank you for the understanding in that. I'm not really angry at the characters but more like disappointed in the monthly updates that make it impossible to appreciate a jealousy storyline. Thank you for checking out this chapter and I hope you enjoy it.

 **Chapter Twelve – You're not my nurse**

Kyoko nervously placed her hand on Kuon's chest as he had his shirt off. She wanted to cry as she saw this confusion in his eyes and the way that it looked as if his brain was trying to figure out where he had seen her before. Kyoko placed a stethoscope she had been able to acquire onto his chest to measure his breathing. "How have you been feeling, Hizuri-san?" she asked him politely as he studied her, "Just try to breathe naturally."

"I think I'm getting better," Kuon said as he looked down uncertainly, "Were you…were you working at the hospital when I was there?" he asked her and Kyoko paused. She took an inhale of her own as she lifted the stethoscope off of his chest, wanting to reach out and kiss him and throw her arms around him but she had to resort to writing down the details on a form.

"I had just gotten off of my shift or was just about to start my shift," Kyoko said as she tried to limit the information so she could respond honestly, "It's okay though, I'm sure that your mind must be a blur. Did you want to discu—" she caught him looking at her painfully before he opened his mouth.

"Are yo-" he dropped his head and then laughed, putting his hand to his forehead.

Kyoko handed him his shirt and watched as he put it back on. She wanted to grab his face and force him to remember her but she needed to be patient with him. Kuon wasn't intentionally doing this. She sat with her hands in her lap, "Go ahead," she said but Kuon kept his hand on his forehead. Kyoko checked the time and tried not to hide the frown. It was nearly time for his next dosage of the medicine that made his mind so foggy. She was intentionally providing medicine that aided in his forgetting her.

"It's stupid," he said with a sad smile and Kyoko looked down not sure whether to step over the line or not. Would asking him about it lead to him feeling uncomfortable and not wanting to see her even as his pretend nurse. She didn't want that to happen.

"Would you like to talk about what's on your mind?" Kyoko finally inquired. This would give him an easy out.

"It's more of a question," Kuon told her before humming and looking down painfully, "I…is it okay if…no it's stupid, I mean you're so beautiful and kind and…and then I'm…"

Kyoko smiled weakly, maybe he was trying to tell her that he had feelings for her? That would definitely make this a little easier on her, knowing that he had inner knowledge of his emotions for her. "You, Hizuri-san are one of the most gorgeous men in Japan and that is a fact. You have always been kind to me and you are very intelligent as well," Kuon stared at her confused. "Please don't talk about yourself in such harsh -"

"Are you my girlfriend?" he finally asked her before looking down and Kyoko had to admit how adorable it was that his cheeks had turned red and he looked like a high school girl admitting her crush for her older sempai. He finally looked at her and saw that she looked stunned. "It's…it's so stupid, isn't it?" he asked and Kyoko nodded her head.

"Yes," she said and he looked a little panicked, "but if it's painful to think about it then don't. I'm going to be here for you, even if you forget in a few hours about our conversation, I'm going to be here for you during your recovery," she pushed some tears out of her eyes.

"Are you actually a nurse?" Kuon asked and Kyoko shook her head. Kuon looked ahead of him, the pain increasing in his expression, "Then why are you here?"

Kyoko reached out to touch his cheek but pulled back as he flinched from her. She would have to keep note on his change in personality, "It's not very easy for me to fall in love or to consider love a positive emotion but when I'm with you, you make me understand the emotion in a way that nobody else has. I love you. I can't really explain how much I love you or the many reasons I have for it but I love you and you are worth it. The doctors say that the fog is only going to last a few more months, we can get through that."

Kuon looked at her, "to go through the pain of me not knowing you. Is it worth it?" he asked and Kyoko nodded immediately.

"It's worth it to me," she told him. "You always say that I have more guts than anyone else you've known and that I have passion and that when I want something then I go for it. I want you, Kuon," she said before blushing herself. "I want to be with you more than I want to be an actress," she admitted and Kuon started shaking. Had she pushed him over the edge?

"I want to remember you," he said as he hung his head, running one hand over his head. "I want to remember us."

"It'll come back," Kyoko said as she let her head rest on his shoulder as she sat next to him on his bed, "until it does, we can take things as slowly as you want. If tomorrow you don't remember me being your girlfriend, that's okay. I'm strong enough for both of us."

"We used to….act together," Kuon told her, "I had brown hair and brown eyes and then…there was a sunny place, a really bad coconut drink, a high priestess."

Kyoko nodded, she felt so happy to hear that he had some memories of her. Even if this was a very brief moment, she would use this as her strength when in situations where he only thought of her as his nurse. "That was when we were in Guam together," she told him before pulling out her phone. She went to an area of her photos with double password protection. She had told Kuon about this but she had never told the president or anyone else.

It showed her as Kyoko but it showed Kuon in his Cain Heel ware. It was from the dinner that they had shared together after her reencounter with Prince Corn. Kuon took her phone as she showed him the picture. He studied it, staring at it intently and then smiled softly.

"We were together then?" he asked and Kyoko shook her head.

"That was taken before we became a couple," she said and Kuon frowned, continuing to study it.

"No, the look in my eyes," he lifted up the phone, "it's one saying that I'm in love with you. The look in your eyes, it -"

"We loved one another in secret," Kyoko tried to explain. "You tried numerous times to show me how much you loved me but I was far too afraid of love to reciprocate and I didn't want you to see me as a loose woman. I was also scared of being rejected," she saw Kuon stare at her confused. "How on earth was someone like me worthy of someone like y-"

"Easily," Kuon said and Kyoko bit her top lip. "I'm sure that I wasn't like this then," he told her and Kyoko stared at the floor. "I was probably smarter and sexier and….and I wasn't this weak. I…" he froze as Kyoko wrapped her arms around him.

"You _are_ all those things to me," she told him as she pressed her face into his chest, taking comfort in his beating heart. "We'll get through this. It's hard not showing you, not telling you, how much you mean to me, but we'll get through this. I promise that I won't run away from you. I promise that if you forget all about this conversation, all about me, I'll go back to being your outpatient nurse and taking care of you. I love you so much that it hurts more not being able to see you or hear your voice."

"Kyoko," Kuon said, closing his eyes and saying her name, "Kyoko," he repeated and Kyoko smiled, feeling the warmth from his chest.

"Kuon," she sighed as she kissed his chest gently. "My Kuon Hizuri."

…..

…..

Since he had seemed to become sleepy after she had given him the medication and since she had a shoot that she had to get to, Kyoko had gone home and now, before school, she was seeing him again. She felt relieved that deep down in his heart he remembered her. That might mean that when the medication was out of his system, his love for her would return. Today though she had to remind herself that he easily forgot and he would most likely would have forgotten the conversation.

"Morning," she said after unlocking the door with the extra key Kuu had trusted her with. She saw Kuon looking down at a small breakfast and debating whether to eat it or not. "Oh, you've chosen to eat, Hizuri-san," she said as she went down into a formal bow. "I'll set up the equipment and please feel free to come into the room for your checkup when you'v-"

"Hello, Kyoko," Kuon smiled to her before looking back at the food uncertainly. "Come here," he said as he held out a hand for her and Kyoko looked at him confused. She nodded and took a deep breath in. She would only cause trouble for the two of them if she pretended to not be a nurse.

"Hizuri-san," she asked, "are you feeling alright this morning?"

Kyoko paused as Kuon brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her hand lovingly. She felt her cheeks turning a deep red. "Is everything alright, Hizuri-san?" she managed to squeak out. She was glad that he didn't actually have another nurse, she would feel horrified if he did this to all women.

"I remember," he said and Kyoko felt her heart beat quicken but she tried to calm herself. There was no saying what he remembered. Maybe he remembered that she was coming over. Maybe he remembered to take the medication himself. "Is it okay? You're not a nurse," he said with a soft smile, "but you're my girlfriend who wants to take care of me, right?"

Kyoko's face lit up and she pulled out the chair next to him. "That's right. I'm your girlfriend," she looked down again, "Do you remember that I told you that even if you didn't remember me, I'm still your girlfriend?" she asked and Kuon nodded. "Maybe that brain of yours is getting less clouded," she teased him and Kuon nodded.

"Maybe," he shifted nervously, "Did you…is it okay if….do you think," he said and Kyoko hated him so nervous. She kissed his cheek and then tilted her head to the side, watching him. It was so hard to see him like this after how amazing and godlike Ren had been. Still, inside was the same heart, the same person, her treasured boyfriend.

"I'm listening," she told him as she put a hand to her cheek and let her thumb run over his skin. "It's okay, what did you want to say?"

"Do you want to go on a date with me?" Kuon asked and Kyoko nodded.

"Always," she replied, her own heart starting to race because maybe this was going to be okay? It was going to be more than okay if he remembered her. She just wanted to take care of him and keep him alive. He was so different now but underneath all of it, he was Kuon and she didn't want anybody else to have him. "I will always want to go on a date with you," she promised him.

 **End of Chapter Twelve**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you to those who reviewed Chapter Eleven**

Brennakai, KrisXD, paulagato


	13. Chapter 13 - The Great Actor, Ren

**AN:** Lol, half of this chapter was actually written a whole month ago so I hope I was able to finish it without too much disjointedness. Really hope that you enjoy 😊

 **Chapter Thirteen – The Great Actor, Ren**

Kyoko knew why they were staring at them and she had to admit that it was times like these when she wished people didn't care about celebrities so much. All she had wanted was to enjoy a date with her boyfriend who wasn't the best in terms of mental functioning at the moment but people wouldn't stop with their gossiping and right now Kyoko was taking it out on the hamburger steak in front of her.

"Hey," Kuon said as he reached out to put a hand over hers, moving cautiously and looking at her very concerned, "Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?" he asked and Kyoko dropped the knife and looked at him take aback.

"No, you didn't do anything," she said slowly before looking at the meal in front of her, she sighed and reached for his hand, squeezing it softly. "No, Kuon, you didn't do anything wrong at all," she said before closing her eyes. "Sometimes, I get angry and that's not a side of myself that I like to show to you too much."

"If I've done something to cause that anger," Kuon said slowly as he saw multiple people looking at him. This was because he was a Hizuri, right? They were looking at him because he was Kuu Hizuri's son. He sighed, he didn't know how to respond if someone were to come over, he didn't know what projects his father was currently working on.

Kyoko sighed, she didn't want to talk about how worried she was that someone might come over and trigger him. Talking about how he might be overly sensitive wasn't nice and she wanted to make him feel safe. This was supposed to be a date night for the two of them, a night for him to relearn her. "Why don't we start off by talking?" Kyoko said as she set her silverware down for a moment.

Kuon nodded, "Okay, how was your day?" he asked and Kyoko smiled.

"I can't wait to graduate because then I'll be able to do more acting roles," Kyoko said as he nodded, "I'm nearly done with school and then I want to expand my skills as an actress and I think that I can -"

"What type of acting have you done?" Kuon cut her off and Kyoko paused, she looked at him confused before smiling softly. He didn't mean to be this way, he didn't mean to have only a cloudy recollection of who she was and what she did and enjoyed. This wasn't Kuon who was talking, this was the illness.

"Well, I've played a lot of mean or dark characters but I want to do someone good and kind like a princess," Kyoko said eagerly, "I think that my dream role would be to play a modern fairytale princess with Cinderella being my favorite but I love acting. I actually, well…there was…" she bowed her head and Kuon looked at her confused.

"How did you get into acting?" Kuon asked with a smile that made Kyoko want to squeal with happiness, instead she looked down not really knowing the best way to approach the matter. The reason why she loved acting so much was because of him.

"My sempai was really into it and he is the best actor that I know. He was able to give me so much good advice and I know that when he gets back to work with his acting, he'll be the best active actor in no time. I'm a true believer in him, a true…" Kyoko nervously turned her attention back to Kuon. "I'm a believer in your potential," she said as he looked at her and then laughed.

"You should be telling me more about myself than I can attempt to," he said before looking at his hand. "An actor? I made it, you really think that I was the best actor?" he asked and Kyoko saw happiness in his eyes. She wanted to encourage that. Even though he wasn't acting at the time being, she could still encourage him to take pride in his own inner abilities.

"I think you're doing fine, you'll remember more and more as you get healthy again," she told him as she squeezed his hand. Kyoko wanted to treasure Kuon's smile in this moment. They still had a long road ahead of them for his recovery but she didn't want to lose this moment. This was a good moment…or at least it would have been had the waitress not decided to make her presence known in the worst way possible.

"As for the answer to your question, I believe you were the best and a lot of other people did too. I'm so proud that I got to follow in your footsteps and learn from your method and I hope when you're healthy again you'll teach me more of what you know about acting," she grinned before the waitress coughed again,

"Tsuruga-san," she said with a notebook that had a photograph of him on the front of it as Ren and a pen, "May I have your autograph?"

Kyoko had to control herself to not let any of her demons out so she could attack this stupid girl in front of them.

"Me too, me too," a couple of girls said as they started to crowd the table and Kuon looked down trying to steady herself.

"It is you, right? You are the real Tsuruga Ren, right?" one of the girls asked and Kuon looked at them seeming to be quite uncomfortable.

"Tsuruga…Ren?" he asked slowly, turning to Kyoko for help. "I'm sorry, you've got the wrong…"

"idea," Kyoko said quickly, "You've got the wrong idea for coming here and trying to bother Ren and I whilst we're eating. This isn't one of those conventions where a star is required to give you his autograph nor have we come from work. This is a date and a very personal thing. I think those of you who have been lucky enough to experience a date would be horrified if you were ambushed," Kyoko said as her eyes took on a dark quality whilst she channeled her inner Mio.

The girls froze, staring at her in complete shock before they apologized and went back to their seats. Kyoko could still feel the anger on her. Kyoko hoped that that would be enough to stop the link from Kuon to Ren. People would be gossiping that Ren was back in the country but hopefully he'd be able to think clearly and coherently before people gossiped about how Ren Tsuruga was Kuu Hizuri's son.

"They don't know I'm a Hizuri?" Kuon asked quietly and Kyoko nodded, "they think I'm….Ren Tsuru—"

"Tsuruga, yes," Kyoko nodded.

Kuon nodded slowly before eating a little bit more of his meal, "interesting," he said slowly as Kyoko watched him. She sighed and ate some of her own food. They didn't have a plan of how to get through this so they'd have to really see for themselves how it played out.

Kyoko looked at him with a smile. She felt exhausted because of the interruption but she wanted to do something for him. Being by his side might be good enough for now. She knew he was going to get healthy again but she would prefer for him to go through this rough patch than remember everything. When he was healing he would have a chance to learn more again as for right now, she just wanted to enjoy every single moment that they could share together.

…

…..

Kyoko was nervous as she watched Kuon look over the series of Dark Moon. He had wanted to see some of his more famous roles to see if he could see how good at acting he was. Kyoko was of course hesitant to do this because of the last time that the two of them had watched it together. She could remember how painful it had been for Kuon to learn that he was really losing his memories in exchange for recovering from his illness.

She hadn't wanted to see him in any pain at all but somehow this wasn't seeming to hurt him. He was studying it as much as someone studies one of those tests that they play before an exam which gives you all the answers you get to cram with.

"I was good, wasn't I?" Kuon asked her and Kyoko nodded, still feeling nervous.

"You were the best. Everyone loves your acting and you were always so nice to everyone. People really loved you, they still love you," Kyoko said and Kuon laughed gesturing to the drama.

"I really don't think that I've got the skills to perform that well, not until I'm off the medication, anyway," he told her honestly and Kyoko bit her top lip.

"I know but that isn't why they will still love you. The name Ren Tsuruga is important to the people in this country and it's because you have charm and you have a character people love, that they can trust in and put faith in your charisma. I fell in love with you because you have that maturity and dedication to your passion but you're also funny, charming, and you care about others. One thing you once told me that to grow in the industry is to help bring out in others how you want them to act with your own acting. You were the most popular in a lot of polls but you still encouraged team work."

Kuon smiled and closed his eyes, "Do you still have it?" he asked and Kyoko looked at him. She blinked.

"The stone I gave you?" he asked her and Kyoko nodded.

"You mean, Corn, of course I still have Corn," Kyoko said proudly. She raised her chin in a proud manner, "Corn is a special magic stone that I am never going to let anyone take away from me. He has helped my sadness for so many years," she grinned and Kuon smiled back at her.

"I remember something about that stone," he said and Kyoko blinked, tilting her head to the side. Was there another part of the magic that he hadn't told her about? She couldn't think of anything new he could say and the real thing was how it changed colors and could take sadness away from her.

"What do you remember?" she asked as Kuon stopped the drama from playing.

"I remember that I had trouble with a scene," he said as he closed his eyes and tried to take deep breaths. "I remember that I had trouble shooting a scene, which kind of sounds like something I'd do, and then I managed to play the piano or…or something, but you gave me the stone to try to comfort me and you were very humble about it."

"Of course I was humble," Kyoko commented with a confident look on her face, "I was facing my beloved and honorable sempai and I didn't have much magic of my own to help him so I wanted to help him, to help you in any way that I could."

"And I kissed the stone and you said it was a strange magic that frightened you," he told her and Kyoko smiled, laughing happily at how he was able to tell her about that incident in detail. He was getting better. She was so happy about this and she just wanted to continue hearing him remember thi—

Her phone buzzed and she smiled to Kuon, gently kissing his cheek, "I'm just going to go check what that's about," she said before walking off.

As she took the phone from her pocket, her eyes widened as she read the text on the screen.

 _Setting up a press conference for Ren – Mr. President_.

Kyoko felt a cold chill throughout her body, she didn't know if she was ready for this.

 **End of Chapter Thirteen**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Twelve**

Brennakai, Kris XD, ktoll9, paulagato

 **Response to Reviews**

Kuon truly does love her and he's going to cling to that love and Kyoko in return is going to help him pull through the illness. I just read the chapter summary of the current month's chapter and it's better than last month fortunately but I'm going to stick to reading chapter summaries again. If anyone needs a good place to get the summaries I recommend the Facebook page SkipBeat1. Anyway thank you for all of your support


	14. Chapter 14 - Piecing it Together

**Chapter Fourteen – Piecing it Together**

"I refuse," Kyoko said as she faced the president and he stared at her, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I'm not Kuon but I refuse on his behalf, he's not ready," she told him with a stubborn expression on her face. She wasn't going to let the president push her around. Kuon had been struggling already with trying to regain his memories, he only thought he was famous because of how he was Kuu's son, she didn't want to push him over the edge and scare him.

He didn't know what he was in for and she wanted to protect him.

"I think that since his health is improving and that he's going out with you in public," Lory said and Kyoko continued to stare at him.

"He doesn't remember Ren Tsuruga, well he's starting to but he…he nearly died and we're still crossing our fingers that he doesn't relapse. I don't want him to hurt," Kyoko told him and Lory looked at her with a smile which Kyoko didn't find amusing. "He isn't in a good shape. Maybe he'd be able to do it in a few weeks but he's…he's just started to improve and I don't want to make him feel anxious."

"Your job was to look after him," Lory said and Kyoko nodded with conviction.

"Yes, and that's why I have to refuse on his behalf. You told me to take care of him and help him put things in order. The doctors think that he's going to make a full recovery, they think that though it's going to happen slowly and we have to have patience, that he'll recover and his mind will recover but he can't be pushed into situations. I won't let you hurt him."

"Because you love him?" the president asked with a smile as he picked up his cup of tea and gave a sip. Kyoko stared at him.

"Yes," she said without hesitation, "I love him. I'm his girlfriend and as his girlfriend I have to try to keep him safe. I want to wait at least three weeks…"

"Two weeks," Lory said as he held up two fingers and Kyoko paused. Two weeks did sound reasonable and it would give him time to recover a bit more but she didn't want to be the type of partner who would try to take control of his life.

She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair feeling exhausted, "Fine, two weeks but if his health somehow declines during those two weeks then can we reconsider? I thought that you cared about him. I thought you knew him when he was little because you're a friend of Father's."

"I've known him since Julie was pregnant," Lory told her and Kyoko nodded.

"So, you've known him before he was him. I don't want him to hurt. You have no idea how important he is to me," she said and Lory nodded slowly. Kyoko bowed her head, "Thank you," she whispered as she tried to brush away a few tears in her eyes. "Do you want me to pass along any message to him?" she asked and Lory sighed.

"Tell him that I'm rooting for him and that I really hope that he feels better soon," he told her and Kyoko nodded before bowing respectfully and leaving the office. She hoped that when she saw Kuon he wouldn't be in a bad way and that his memories would improve. However, it was far too early for the kind of attention that a press conference would generate.

…..

…..

Kuu looked over at his son as he made his way over to where he was working. He looked down at the index cards that Kuon had put over the table and he put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Hey," he said as he placed a cup of tea in front of him and Kuon looked up at him. "Can you tell me what you're doing?" he asked and Kuon nervously looked down at the table.

"I thought that if I wrote my memories in order then I might remember more," he told him and Kuu smiled to him, he started rubbing Kuon's back in a way to massage it. He wanted to take care of his son and he had been so scared during his illness. The fact that he was starting to return back to them was a huge relief for him.

Kuu picked up one of the cards and smiled as he read that it was about being offered the role of Katsuki in Dark Moon. He had to admit that though he had loved playing that role and liked the thrill of the audience accepting it, his son had done it better than him. He wouldn't have felt so happy about handing over the Katsuki mantle to any other actor.

"I…things are this big…blur," Kuon attempted to explain as he gestured that there was a fog around his head that he couldn't get rid of. Kuu nodded as he picked up a card from another side of the table and saw that it was about him meeting Kyoko for the second time. He didn't know how to express his joy that Kuon was starting to remember his relationship with his girlfriend. Kuon needed Kyoko's strength and support and Kyoko had an immeasurable amount of strength and determination.

Kuu heard a knock on the door and looked at Kuon, "Keep working," he said with a smile before making his way over to the door. He paused as he saw Yashiro there, would this actually be good timing for him? Kuu opened the door and bowed slightly though that led to Yashiro giving a deep bow. "I wasn't expecting you," he grinned and Yashiro paled.

"I thought that it would be okay if I just dropped in to say hello, the presi-" Yashiro tried to explain feeling a little nervous about just dropping by on a man he respected so much. Kuu still had godlike status to him, the way he was just a down to earth person was something he still had to get used to.

"Yes, of course it's okay. It actually might be a really good time," Kuu replied before gesturing for Yahsiro to come in. Yashiro looked at him curiously before going over to Kuon and pulling a seat out at the table.

"Hi," he said to his friend and Kuon turned his attention to him.

"Hey, Yashiro-san," he said before looking down and Yashiro paused unsure if there was a problem or not. He mentally was running through Kuon's symptoms in his head trying to see if maybe he had made a mistake. No, he had just come down and sat in front of him, no mistake made.

"How are you?" the manager asked as he picked up a card and saw that there was the name 'Cain Heel' on it, he put it down again.

"I'm trying to remember things, Kyoko's been helping me remember things."

"Well, she's a good girl and you two have known each other for a while now. I've still known you longer but she's known you more intimately which I'm glad about," Yashiro stood up and went to the first card which said 'Coming to Japan'. "Do you know when we met?" he asked and Kuon looked down, closing his eyes as he tried to place the moment. He could hear the president introducing Yashiro to him but it was as if everything was coated with a mist like substance that was hard to see through.

"I was…sixteen or seventeen?" he asked and Yashiro smiled.

"You were seventeen when I became your manager. You were a bit rebellious and I didn't know how much you had tried to turn yourself into somebody else, still you were a talented actor and I learned to care for you," he said and Kuon looked down.

"I must have been one annoying client," he said with a weak laugh and Yashiro shook his head.

"Interesting client but what I loved seeing was your talent, the way you took a role and you just digested it and made it real when you were in front of the camera. You were dedicated to your work and hyper-focused and then you met with Kyoko and after a few months of knowing her you started to change, started to actually act the way that people expect other people to act."

"And that was because I was in love with her," Kuon guessed and Yashiro smirked.

"Kyoko was the first girl that you actually fell in love with despite the difference in your ages. Before Kyoko you had spent so much time focusing on your work that you didn't really want to think about emotional things like love. I think that she changed you for the better because you were able to use your feelings for her to develop your future roles."

Kuon turned to Yashiro with a smile. He did have to admit that the strongest part of his heart, of his love was reserved for that girl. The pieces were slowly coming together but there was still a lot that was unknown and that scared him. These times between the major moments in ones life might seem stagnant but there was a lot of personal growth and development and Kuon believed that he wouldn't be able to understand who he was unless he focused on that.

"I think that I'll always love her," Kuon said and then looked down, "If I wasn't in the position that I am then I'd think about maybe having a future with her. I'd love to marry her one day but when I'm like this, when I have the chance of still forgetting her then that wouldn't be best for her," Kuon sighed before turning to Yashiro who was grinning like a Cheshire cat with all of his fanboying over their relationship. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm just so proud of you that you've decided to let your emotions for her go public and you're thinking about these things. I know that women fantasize their wedding days but this gives me such joy in knowing that you think about that with Kyoko."

Kuon paused and looked at his manager confused, he sighed and then stared down at the table. "Is that so new?" he asked and Yashiro nodded.

"The Ren that I knew all those years ago when we first met was closed and distant from the world, he didn't believe that he should be happy or went to get closer to somebody who wanted that happiness for him as well. You're developing as a human being," he said and Kuon laughed.

"It doesn't sound as if I was a mature teenager if this is the way you're reacting to it," he said before hearing another knock on the door and heard his father go and answer it.

After a few minutes, Kuu came to the room followed by Kyoko and grinned, "Aren't you Mr. Popular today?" he winked at his son and Kyoko smiled before bowing to Yashiro again. She looked at the table and then went to pick up one of the cards. Her eyes widened as she realized the improvements that he had been making and how he could remember different things, these important things.

"I'm so happy," she sniffed before running over to him and throwing her arms around him, entering a passionate kiss as she tried to blink the tears out of her eyes. "You're remembering," she stated and Kuon picked up a card and looked at it.

"Only small things," he said and Kyoko shook her head.

"None of these are small things. You're remembering, that's what's important. You're…I'm so proud of you," she said before kissing him again and Yashiro grinned as he saw how happy the couple was making each other. Hopefully Kuon's memories would return completely soon and he could focus on recovering physically. Still, these two were perfect for one another.

 **End of Chapter Fourteen**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you to reviewers of Chapter Thirteen**

Kris XD, paulagato

 **Response to Reviews**

People can be incredibly rude and that's Kyoko's thinking as well but Kuon is slowly getting better. Kyoko is definitely his support right now and she's going to defend him from Lory.


	15. Chapter 15 - Living Arrangements

**AN:** Honestly I feel that this chapter could be better especially the middle part. I wrote it in multiple sittings and it's never as good when I do that. Anyway, I really hope that you enjoy this chapter 😊

 **Chapter Fifteen – Living Arrangements**

Kyoko had already known that there were a lot of elements that went along with being ill. She knew about the different medicines that one could prepare themselves, the way that you can cure a cold in only a couple of days with only a few items. She knew how important it was that someone didn't push Kuon in the wrong way or too hard. He was healing and she hated to use the word, but he was fragile.

Still, she could help him psychologically.

He had made that list of things that he wanted to do and things that he wanted to see before he died and just because the doctors had said that he was reaching the clear, that didn't mean that she couldn't plan some things for him. He had wanted to know who Bo was and maybe she could clear that up for him, ask him if he forgave her. Then he had wanted to go to this video game event that was coming up.

She hadn't known that he liked video games.

She knew that he liked nature and cars and acting but weren't video games the complete opposite to nature. Was it because he had grown up in California? Hadn't he also wanted to see a baseball game, she could go with him to that but that would mean exposing himself to the public and she didn't know if he was ready for that.

What she could do was give him her support. She could fight for him and believe in him and she knew that what she was fighting for was worth it. Her place in his arms and his lips both whispering that he loves her and kissing her. She wanted to stay strong for him and figure out what they could do in the future.

Kyoko put her card key in the lock and entered the home. "Kuon," she said before seeing him nervously looking at a piece of paper. Okay, something was amiss. "Hey," she approached him and he seemed to pull back before looking at her nervously. "Is something wrong?" she asked him.

He looked down and sighed, "No, I don't think so," he told her and Kyoko paused. She sat down so that she could still look in his eyes. She was hesitant when anything was different for them. Kuon had fought through so much and if a piece of paper were to tell him that he was going to die in under twenty-four hours, she wouldn't be surprised.

"Can you talk to me about it?" she asked and Kuon paused.

"My dad uh…well he bought the apartment from me, I told him not to, I told him that I felt that maybe…maybe it would bring him bad luck but my old apartment. My dad's been renting it and he gave me the owners papers and the hospital says that I could start living by myself again soon," Kuon said slowly and he grinned feeling that his hard work was being acknowledged.

"That's amazing," Kyoko grinned as she threw her arms around him. "I mean it, you living by yourself again. You living _here_ again. That would be so good," she whispered as she took his hands in hers. She leaned forwards and kissed his lips, "Promise me that you'll try to make that a reality. I love you, Kuon."

"I love you too, Kyoko" he smiled and she took a deep breath in. Hopefully everything would be okay.

…..

…..

It had happened in the early morning when she was preparing to go to school and Kyoko couldn't believe that she hadn't remembered it until that point. She couldn't believe that she had spent so much time pushing away the thoughts that needed to come. Today Kuon was going in for another hospital appointment and she was incredibly worried about him.

She didn't like not being there beside him. She didn't like the idea that there was a possibility that he wouldn't be okay or that they would say that his health had gotten worse. Was it too much to want for him to never see the inside of a hospital room again? Well, probably. He had been diagnosed with a very severe illness.

Kyoko sighed as she looked out the window.

Kuon had come so far and she was scared that if he were on different medication then he would relapse, he would forget who she was and what they had done together, how much they had worked through. She wanted to take care of him but it was harder when he had a hard time placing her.

She picked up her phone and started to scroll through the numbers before finding her father's one. She took a deep breath in and called him. She waited for the ringing to stop, each time she heard the ring she imagined the way that Kuon's hand felt on her skin.

Finally it was picked up.

"Kyoko, is something wrong?" Kuu asked and Kyoko made sure to steady her inhale. She paused before settling her mind on what she wanted to say.

"Father," she started to speak, "I really wanted to tell you that I'm rooting for Kuon and I'm….I hate to tell you this Father but I'm scared for him and I don't want to ask for too much but if you…if you…"

"I'll keep you updated," Kuu promised her. "It's just a routine appointment, a check up, nothing that is more serious than that. I'll make sure to tell you the results though. Will we be seeing you this afternoon?"

"If that's okay," Kyoko said nervously and Kuu replied gently.

"Then we'll see you this afternoon. It'll be fine, Kyoko. I am sure that it will be fine," Kuu attempted to comfort her and Kyoko tried to hold tight to those words, hoping for the best. She didn't want to think about the pain that she'd go through if something else happened. This had to end at some point, didn't it?

…

…

So, whilst she was at school, Kyoko decided that she wanted to keep her mind off of Kuon and his doctor's appointment. She was convinced that he was going to get better and she was excited for what type of future they could have together. She hadn't thought about being a bride since she was a child but she wanted that type of modern marriage with Kuon. She wanted for Corn to be her husband.

Wait, no…those thoughts were too embarrassing. She had worked so hard for her own independence, tried to fight for the fact that she didn't need a man to be happy. Still, was it wrong to fall in love? Kuon respected her, wanted the best for her, accepted her faults. Wasn't that what a husband supposed to be like?

She blushed to herself as she sat and ate the bento that she had prepared.

It was during this time that two of her classmates approached her, both girls one year younger than her. She glanced at them and closed the lid of her bento.

"Is it true?" one of them, Sara, asked and Kyoko looked at them confused. "You are friends with Ren Tsuruga?"

"Yes," Kyoko nodded. She wasn't sure whether to announce the fact that she was his girlfriend. Although she wanted to, he was a high profile celebrity who was in his natural state so he looked completely different. First of all, she might change people's view on her and her career which she didn't want but second, they might try to look for Ren…or Kuon…more whilst he was healing.

"So, is it true that he's back in Japan?" Sara asked and Kyoko paused.

"He's working on getting back into acting," she replied attempting to dodge the question. "Other than that, the information is confidential and on a need to know basis."

"But you know it, don't you?" the other girl, Ana, said. "You know, you're not the only girl who loves him."

"Well, I think I'm the only person who loves him in a personal level but thank you for the support, I'll be sure to give him the message," Kyoko said as she raised an eyebrow. She didn't want anybody to get close to Kuon during the healing process and that meant much more than just the media. The reporters were invasive and they might hurt him but the general public was more dangerous to his mental health.

"We saw a picture of you with him at a restaurant," Sara commented.

"I was there and so was he," Kyoko said and Ana leaned forwards.

"You know you just admitted that you are his girlfriend, you know that, don't you?" Ana stated and Kyoko turned her body to them. So, they had decided to focus on this fact. It really wasn't any of their business but if they were going to make such a big deal of this then she might as well give them a sliver of the truth.

"I am his girlfriend which means that I can protect him and I don't want anybody who is going to hurt him with invading his privacy to come closer to him. Eventually he will be appearing in a press release however right now he is healing. He deserves to heal," Kyoko gave them a side eye and she opened her bento again. Now she just wanted the two of them to leave her alone.

"So, he was sick?" Ana asked. "We should organize a nation wide get well soon Tsuruga-san drive," she said and Kyoko stared at her before trying to brush her off and getting back to eating her food. They were boring her now and she didn't want to feed into their obsession with her boyfriend. He had been her friend since she was a child, they didn't deserve to get close to him.

"That's terrible though, he acted like he wasn't coming back so I guess it's terminal," Sara said before starting to whimper, "He's not going to die, right?"

"He's definitely not going to die," Kyoko said as she looked at them. She raised her chin and looked ahead of her with her Kyoko-trademarked determination. "I'm not going to let him get hurt whether that's from his illness or from you."

At this point Kyoko heard her phone ring and she picked it up, grinning as she saw who was calling her. She put her bento away and then stepped out of the classroom with her bag. She slumped down with her back against the wall. "Hi, how are you?"

"The doctors say I'm improving faster than they thought. They said I can go and live in my apartment again," Kuon said with confidence. "I also get to be on a lower dosage of the medication."

Kyoko put a hand over her mouth to stop the sob of relief, "That's good, Ku-sweetheat. That's so good."

"And I wanted to trouble you by asking you a question," Kuon said and Kyoko blinked.

"You're not troubling me, go ahead, any question that you might want to ask," she said and Kuon hesitated a little before finally asking her.

"Will you move in with me to my old apartment?"

 **End of Chapter Fifteen**

 **Thank you for reading**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Fourteen**

Kris XD, ktoll9, paulagato

 **Response to Reviews**

Thank you so much for your support. I think that Kyoko has been the most important part of Kuon's healing process.


	16. Chapter 16 - Getting Better

**AN:** Thank you for your patience in the update of this fic. The scene at the end will play into the scene at the beginning of the next chapter. I hope that you enjoy this work. I think that I'll only write two or three more chapters of it so thank you for supporting me for so long.

 **Chapter Sixteen – Getting Better**

Kyoko was trying to balance her nerves with her excitement. Kuon would be able to move back into his apartment and she was going to help him heal medically but also with numerous small jobs around the apartment. This was going to be the second time living with a man but unlike Shotaro, she was in a relationship with Kuon and he would be home more.

She looked around the boxes, glad that they hadn't had the time to throw everything away and soon they could unpack everything and it would feel like home again. She looked to Kuon who was staring out the window of the place where he had been living with his father for these last weeks. "We can stay here another day if that's easier for you, we don't have to go today," Kyoko tried to assure him and Kuon reached out for her hand.

"I think I'm getting some more of my memories back," he said, "Things are starting to get clearer in my mind again."

Kyoko grinned as she sat down opposite him. It was always good to hear that Kuon was making any kind of improvement and she was excited to know what types of memories they were. She would help him overcome the sad ones and they could celebrate the happier ones. "You want to tell me about them?" she asked with a small grin and Kuon looked at her with a weak nod.

"I remember that I had trouble with my role as Kat-Katsuki," he told her and Kyoko nodded as she looked into his eyes. "And…you came over and you helped me and we didn't read from the script but you helped me define the character and then I passed an acting test," he said and Kyoko squealed a little as she hugged him happily. She was excited that he was starting to return to the person that he had been before this illness. She loved Ren and she only hoped that he was stronger as Kuon.

"I remember that too," she told him with a soft laugh. "We were working together and that was the first project that we worked on together and you gave me a lot of help. I remember that that's when I knew I had fallen in love with you and spent months trying to deny it."

"I feel like you helped me get better as an actor, so thank you," he told her and Kyoko's eyes widened. She quickly shook her head, putting her hands up to protest that statement. He had always been a masterful actor, all that she had done was nudge him in the right direction in that particular time. All of the work that he had done had built his talent up, she didn't want to take credit for that.

She looked at him and placed a hand on his heart before hearing the thumping of it, it made her happy to check that he was alive. Even when he was right before her, she was scared that he might one day disappear. Hopefully they had had the worst part behind them. "I love you, Kuon," she whispered before throwing her arms around him. He was starting to get back some fat over his bones and that made her happier. She had been so scared of losing him but was she hoping for too much, asking too much from him.

"I've started to keep a notebook," he told her and Kyoko hummed, tilting her head to the side as he rolled the wheelchair back and picked up a notebook before bringing it to her. He smiled weakly as he handed it to her and Kyoko paused as she took it from him. She was a little apprehensive, wondering if he had said the same type of things that Chiori had said. Well, she could take it even if it showed her a different side of Kuon.

As she flipped through the book, her heart seemed to become lighter and she couldn't help but smile. There were so many pages filled in and they had his memories that he was regaining with little notes in the side when he remembered something about the incident later. As she got half way through she noticed that there had been half a page left after each memory to give him some space to write things down later. She laughed, not noticing that she had tears of happiness in her eyes.

"This is amazing," she said as he reached out for her hand.

"I don't think I could have done any of it without you helping me," he said and Kyoko shook her head. She wanted to argue with him on that. She didn't want for him to think that he had depended on her too much, he had pulled himself through his sickness and she didn't want a relapse to happen but he had proven to her how strong he had become.

Kyoko sat looking through the entries but lifted her head when she heard Kuu's voice from the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt but I think we should leave now, the car is all packed up," he said and Kyoko closed the book, handing it back to Kuon. There were some more things that would be moved after he and Kyoko had moved into the old apartment but this was going to be the beginning of a new journey for the both of them and Kyoko felt very honored to be living with Kuon, her fairy prince.

…

…

"So," Kyoko said as she looked around the apartment, she knew the direction of the guest bedroom as well as Kuon's own bedroom. She knew that they were living together but did that mean that they would be sharing a bedroom? As much as she wanted to, it seemed rude to assume that. She blushed, she hadn't realized that she wanted to sleep next to him so badly. She used to be a much shyer girl when it came to this type of thing, maybe Setsu had drawn it out of her.

"I'm going to go and check out the guest bedroom," Kyoko grinned to Kuon. "I'm sure that Father can help you get settled," she said and Kuon reached out for her hand. He grabbed it and Kyoko turned to look at him. She smiled softly. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's okay, I was going to ask you something but…"

Kyoko noticed that Kuon seemed to withdraw into himself. She hummed. Whatever he wanted to say was okay with her, if he didn't want to live with her anymore then she would be disappointed but she would make other arrangements. He should think about himself and what he wanted to do, how he wanted to live. He had gone through so much and fought so much that she didn't want to be selfish.

"Whatever it is that you-"

"Did you want to share the main bedroom?" he asked her before looking down nervously as if expecting rejection. Kyoko laughed and smile at him before nodding. Shotaro had always seemed so distant from her – or so she had thought before discovering his real intentions – that this was going to be the first time she slept whilst snuggled up to her boyfriend.

At least she'd be able to check to see if he was okay and to make sure that he hadn't relapsed. She nodded eagerly though her face was very red.

"I love you, Kyoko," he told her and reached up to touch her cheek, she knelt in front of his wheelchair and he brought her in for a very passionate kiss. She smiled as the kiss ended and kept her hands on his shoulders. He was the strongest person that she knew and she would do anything to keep that strength up especially with the press conference the next day.

"I love you too, Kuon," she replied before kissing him again.

…..

…..

"Are you sure that you want to do this?" Yashiro asked and Lory looked at Kuon nervously, he felt that he wanted to be supportive but he was ready to cancel the press conference if Kuon truly was uncomfortable about explaining his illness and his real identity in front of all these people. Sometimes the cameras and questions might send someone back to being sick but Ren had always been able to handle these problems.

"I'm ready," Kuon nodded before looking behind him at where Kyoko was. "I'm a very lucky man because I am loved by the best woman."

"I agree," Yashiro said as Kyoko felt like she was going to burn a hole in the floor with the heat that was coming to her body. Shotaro had never said such things to her and she was starting to get embarrassed despite feeling the same way. She was lucky enough for Kuon to think the world of her and she thought the world of him. She had never felt as happy as knowing that he wanted to be with her.

"If you do feel any discomfort then please let us know," Lory said before going to the stage and smiled as he saw that the press hadn't been allowed in yet. That would give Kuon enough time to prepare himself and get himself ready in the room.

"You think that they'll still accept me?" he asked and Yashiro nodded.

"I think they'll be impressed by all that you've gone through, the strength of what you've gone through," Yashiro told him and Lory smiled as Kuon took some deep breaths and nodded for the press to be allowed in. Kuon concentrated on the table and Yashiro saw his nerves. Kuon really had to overcome more in this short time than a lot of these reporters would have to deal with.

Soon everyone was in the room and Yashiro smiled to them.

"As you all know, Ren Tsuruga took a break from the acting world for his own health reasons," he said as people started to talk more about Ren as they looked at him and people were surprised that he was back. Kuon shifted uncomfortable in his seat but took deep breaths and nodded to Yashiro, assuring that he was all right. "Well, soon we will be welcoming him back to LME and to the acting community but we felt that a press conference was the right way of doing this. We don't want to favor one media outlet higher than the others and there are a few pieces of information but I'm going to hand it over to my friend and client, Ren Tsuruga or…"

"Kuon Hizuri," Kuon said and there were a couple of people who gasped when he said that. Kuon blinked, he hadn't expected for it to be that dramatic of a reveal. Well, he had only just had his memories coming back to him in large waves. "Yes, I've been hiding that my real name and identity is that of Kuon Hizuri, I am the son of Kuu and Julienna Hizuri," he said hearing a lot of excited and surprised chatter.

"I am going to be returning to the LME agency as soon as it is cleared with my doctors and I will be continuing to use the Ren Tsuruga stage name to form a professional line between my private and public life. I have always loved being an actor despite the fact that I had forgotten about it because of the illness that I've been fighting against. That is why I left Japan. I wanted to be at home to focus on healing with my parents support. I am truly honored to be loved by this country and I hope to return to taking acting jobs as soon as I am able."

There was even more discussion here and Yashiro smiled at Kuon.

"You ready?" he whispered and Kuon nodded before Yashiro looked out into the audience, "So, let's see if there are any questions," he said as a wave of hands shot up.

People were definitely thrilled to hear this new information but even more excited that the actor had finally returned to his fans.

 **End of Chapter Sixteen**

 **Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated**

 **Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Fifteen**

Brennakai, Kris XD, ktoll9

 **Author Response:**

Thank you for the support. Yes, they are living together 😊


	17. Chapter 17 - Finale

**AN:** I decided to skip the press conference. If you want to see one similar to how that one would have turned out, there's one in Q&A and there's a more fun one in Kuon. So this is a short and final chapter, thank you so much for everyone who has read and supported this chapter over the seventeen months of writing.

 **Chapter Seventeen – Finale**

One year had gone by and Kyoko loved living with Kuon – who was now known publicly as Kuon – and she had been happy that his health had improved so much that now he was actually going to start acting again in the following month. She smiled as she looked up at LME. Kuon would be returning soon and she was excited to see what kind of acting they'd produce.

"So," Kuon smiled as he made his way over to her, "How does the building look now?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. Kyoko smiled. She had graduated the Love Me Section, leaving Moko behind, once the president knew about how deep her relationship with Corn was and he had helped arrange more projects for her since she had already debuted. She had one coming up that she was most excited about. One where she was the leading actress and played Kuon's love interest.

"It looks safer and smaller and more beautiful, it's where I met you for the second time. I'll always be grateful for meeting you, Corn," she said as she felt his kisses on the top of her head. "I'm glad that you asked me to come here."

"I'm really happy that we'll be acting together soon," he said, "It's been too long since I've been acting, far too long. Promise you won't laugh at me for being rusty?" he asked and Kyoko rolled her eyes.

"I can't wait to see how you shine, probably brighter than you did before and not just because of the hair," she told him as she gazed into those gorgeous emerald eyes. "You'll have hundreds of projects offered to you all at once."

"You think there are hundreds of directors in Japan?" he joked with her.

"That want to hire you, absolutely," she smiled before looking at him. "I'm so thankful for you, so thankful that you'll be here. I don't want to see you anywhere else," she said stubbornly and Kuon nodded.

"I don't want to be anywhere else, in fact," he took a step away from her but placed a pink box in her hand. Kyoko felt the square shape of it and her heart started pounding. A jewelry box. He had given her the necklace in this same place and…she turned to see him on one knee and she looked at the box.

"I want to stay happy," he told her, "but most importantly, I want to make you the happiest you've ever been. I'm so grateful for you, Kyoko. I love you, princess. You healed me and I don't ever want to let you go. I will do everything in my power to never ever forget you again, so will you marry me?" he asked and Kyoko opened the box to see a diamond ring that seemed to change colors in the light.

Kyoko tried to stop a goofy look on her face and she nodded, tears sparkling in her eyes. She froze as he put the ring on her finger and then wrapped her up in a warm embrace.

"Of course, Corn, of course," she said excitedly and he kissed her passionately, the joy of her becoming his fiancée could be felt with every moment of that kiss.

Kyoko touched his cheek, "I'm glad that I saved you, Mr. Hizuri," she grinned and he kissed her once again. This was where he wanted to be for the rest of his life. Kyoko was happy that she had been there for him when he needed her most. She knew she would always save him. Now, she would be safe with him. She would be his _Mrs. Hizuri_.

 **End of Saving Mr. Hizuri**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who favorited, followed, and left a review on this fic. It has always meant a lot to me and with your continued support I managed to get to the end of this fic that was started nearly two years ago. Thank you so much everyone**


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